3  1822016072159 

LOUSE  IN  THE 


AISSANCE 


THE  FLORAL  GAMES;  UNIVERSITY  AND  STUDENT 
LIFE;  ETIENNE  DOLET  (1532-1534) 


BY 


JOHN  CHARLES  DAWSON 


PART  I 

THE   FLORAL  GAMES   OF  TOULOUSE 
(LES  JEUX  FLORAUX) 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE 

DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  IN  THE  FACULTY  OF 

PHILOSOPHY,  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


NEW   YORK 

COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY   PRESS 
1921 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  «T 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


EXCHANGE 


&nfv.c?  California 
jwn 


SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822016072159 


Central  University  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall  after  two  weeks. 

Date  Due 


OCT  09  1993 


Cl  39  (1/91) 


UCSD  Lib. 


Columbia  THnfrcr0ttc 

STUDIES  IN  ROMANCE  PHILOLOGY 
AND  LITERATURE 


TOULOUSE  IN  THE  RENAISSANCE 


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Or 


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Facsimile  of  folio  8  r"  of  the  Livre  Rouge  (Vol.  1.);  date  1550.     Bibliotheque  des  Jeux 

Floraux  de  Toulouse. 


TOULOUSE  IN  THE 


THE  FLORAL  GAMES;  UNIVERSITY  AND  STUDENT 
LIFE;  ETIENNE  DOLET  (1532-1534) 

BY 

JOHN  CHARLES  DAWSON 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE 

DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  IN  THE  FACULTY  OF 

PHILOSOPHY,  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


NEW  YORK 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY   PRESS 
1921 


tfXCHAMCMK 


Copyright,  1921 
67  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


Printed  from  type.     Published  May,  1921 


DEDICATED   TO   THE 

MAINTENEURS 

OF  THE 

JEUX  FLORAUX  OF  TOULOUSE 


PREFACE 

In  the  spring  of  1919  I  was  stationed  at  Toulouse  as  the  Amer- 
ican Dean  of  twelve  hundred  American  soldier  students  in  the 
University.  While  performing  my  duties  in  connection  with  the 
Army  Educational  Corps,  I  became  interested  in  all  phases  of  Tou- 
louse life,  and  especially  in  the  Academy  of  the  Floral  Games.  This 
interest  was  heightened  by  my  close  personal  friendship  with  Mon- 
sieur Joseph  Anglade,  professeur  d'fitudes  Meridionales  in  the 
University  and  Mainteneur  of  the  Floral  Games.  Through  Pro- 
fessor Anglade,  I  had  the  privilege  of  visiting  several  times  the 
Hotel  d'Assezat,  home  of  the  Academy  of  the  Floral  Games,  and  of 
attending  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  the  1-3  of  May. 
After  becoming  personally  acquainted  with  the  Mainteneurs  and 
learning  the  history  of  that  ancient  body,  it  occurred  to  me  that 
some  phase  of  the  history  of  the  Floral  Games  would  make  a  good 
subject  for  investigation.  When  the  American  Mission,  which 
visited  France  in  the  summer  of  1919  to  aid  in  promoting  a  more 
cordial  understanding  between  the  two  countries,  came  to  Toulouse, 
I  discussed  the  matter  with  Professor  H.  A.  Todd,  of  Columbia 
University,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Mission.  Professor  Todd 
not  only  gave  me  encouragement,  but  approached  the  Mainteneurs 
on  the  subject.  The  latter  readily  gave  assent  and  offered  to  aid  in 
every  way  possible.  They  suggested  that  a  study  be  made  of  the 
society  in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance;  and  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  work,  Monsieur  Frangois  de  Gelis,  historiographer  of  the  Floral 
Games,  proffered  the  loan  of  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  Livre  Rouge, 
the  secretary's  record  from  1513-1641. 

In  the  summer  of  1920,  I  came  to  Columbia  University  and 
began  an  intensive  investigation  of  the  Floral  Games.  Since  certain 
features  of  the  history  of  this  society  in  the  period  of  the  Renais- 
sance had  already  been  presented  by  M.  de  Gelis  in  his  scholarly 
Historic  critique  des  Jeux  Floraux  (1912),  I  felt  that  my  efforts 
should  be  confined  in  the  main  to  supplementing  his  work.  For  this 


viii  Preface 

reason,  after  giving  a  brief  survey  of  its  earlier  history,  I  have 
attempted  to  deal  with  the  transformation  of  the  mediaeval  society 
into  the  College  of  the  Art  and  Science  of  Rhetoric  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  to  point  out  the  strong  influence  of  the 
Rhetoricians  of  the  north  on  the  reorganized  body,  as  well  as  the 
influence  later  of  the  general  ideas  of  the  Renaissance  and  of  the 
Pleiade.  In  treating  the  poets,  I  have  endeavored  to  show  the  nature 
in  general  of  their  poetry,  and  have  selected  for  fuller  study  certain 
of  the  contemporaries  of  the  Pleiade  poets.  The  influence  of  Du 
Bellay  and  Ronsard  was  felt  very  early  at  Toulouse,  but  it  was  not 
until  the  seventeenth  century  that  the  substance  and  spirit  of  the 
poems  for  which  prizes  were  awarded  underwent  strongly  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Pleiade.  Although  the  poems  for  which  prizes  were 
awarded  were  composed  very  largely  throughout  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury according  to  tradition  and  the  conventions  imposed  by  the 
society,  many  of  the  poets  became  successful  followers  of  the 
Pleiade,  and  among  them  perhaps  the  most  elegant  imitator  was 
Pierre  de  Brach,  of  Bordeaux,  contemporary  and  friend  of  Mon- 
taigne. Several  poets  of  wide  reputation,  who  made  distinctly  valu- 
able contributions  to  the  poetry  of  France  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
began  their  poetic  careers  at  Toulouse,  and  are  to  be  counted  as 
direct  products  of  the  influence  of  the  Floral  Games.  Robert  Gar- 
nier,  the  dramatist,  was  twice  a  winner  of  floral  prizes  and  published 
his  first  volume  of  poetry  while  a  student  at  Toulouse.  Du  Bartas 
was  a  student  in  the  university  and  won  a  prize  in  the  Floral  Games ; 
it  is  probable  that  he  composed  his  Judith  at  Toulouse.  Guy  du 
Faur,  sieur  de  Pibrac,  author  of  the  Quatrains,  while  he  never  con- 
tested for  a  prize,  was  a  Mainteneur  of  the  Floral  Games,  and 
underwent  the  influence  of  his  Toulouse  environment.  While  for 
the  most  part  only  a  follower,  Brach  contributed  to  the  poetic  ideas 
of  his  times  by  composing  a  series  of  sonnets  as  a  vehicle  for  satire. 
Throughout  the  century  a  large  proportion  of  the  competing  poets 
of  the  Floral  Games  were  students  of  the  university,  who  after  their 
departure  from  Toulouse,  doubtless  spread  abroad  throughout 
France  the  interest  in  poetry  which  they  had  acquired.  I  believe 
that  I  am  the  first  to  develop  the  connection  between  the  Rhetori- 
cians and  the  Floral  Games,  to  point  out  that  the  influence  of  the 


Preface  ix 

Pleiade  was  felt  at  Toulouse  as  early  as  1551,  and  to  indicate  that 
Guillaume  Saluste,  who  won  a  prize  in  1565,  is  to  be  identified  as 
Du  Bartas,  the  celebrated  author  of  La  Semaine. 

Although  my  first  intention  was  to  study  the  Floral  Games 
only,  I  perceived  while  perusing  the  pages  of  the  Lvure  Rouge  that 
many  of  the  young  poets  were  students  in  the  university.  As  a 
result  of  the  interest  stimulated  by  this  discovery,  I  have  devoted 
Part  II  of  my  study  to  university  and  student  life  at  Toulouse  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  After  a  preliminary  sketch  of  the  founding 
of  the  university  and  its  history  during  the  mediaeval  period,  I  have 
attempted  in  broad  outline  to  picture  university  life  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  portraying  especially  the  intellectual  and  political  struggles 
of  the  first  half  of  the  century,  particularly  of  the  decade  from  1530 
to  1540, — the  clashes  between  the  humanists  and  reactionaries,  the 
earlier  phases  of  the  Reformation,  the  bitter  rivalry  for  precedence 
on  the  part  of  the  capitouls,  the  seneschalty  and  the  parlement;  the 
struggles  of  the  prof  essors  and  students  to  retain  their  ancient  privi- 
leges; the  reorganization  of  the  student  fraternities  or  "nations," 
and  the  role  played  by  them  in  the  stirring  drama  of  the  Renais- 
sance. In  dealing  with  the  second  half  of  the  century,  I  have 
attempted  to  outline  the  course  of  events  leading  up  to  the  Protestant 
Conspiracy  of  1562,  and  finally  to  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 
In  both  of  these  tragic  events  the  students  had  a  conspicuous  part, 
especially  in  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  which,  at  Toulouse, 
was  in  the  main  conducted  by  students.  Many  names  celebrated 
in  French  literature  and  history  are  connected  with  Toulouse  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  among  them  Jean  de  Pins,  Guillaume  Bude, 
Michel  de  1'Hospital,  fitienne  Dolet,  Jean  Voulte,  fitienne  Pasquier, 
de  Thou,  Henri  de  Mesmes,  Jean  de  Boysson,  Cujas,  Rabelais, 
Margaret  of  Navarre,  Jean  de  Coras,  Arnauld  Ferrier,  and  many 
others. 

While  investigating  university  and  student  life,  I  naturally 
became  interested  in  fitienne  Dolet,  who  was  a  student  of  law  at 
Toulouse  from  1532  to  1534,  and  in  the  latter  year  a  contestant 
in  the  Floral  Games.  After  reading  the  works  of  the  several 
biographers  of  Dolet,  I  was  aware  that  his  career  at  Toulouse  had 
not  been  clearly  understood  and  it  was  evident  that  confusion  existed 


x  Preface 

as  to  the  proper  sequence  of  events  narrated  concerning  him.  For 
this  reason  I  have  devoted  Part  III  to  a  fresh  study  of  that  part  of 
his  life.  I  have  attempted  to  arrange  the  events  of  his  career  in 
their  natural  and  logical  sequence,  and  to  give  to  the  material  a  new 
interpretation.  While  I  am  offering  no  new  facts  concerning  Dolet 
himself,  I  have  introduced  new  material  relating  to  the  life  at 
Toulouse  during  the  period  of  his  stay  there,  and  have  been  able  to 
show  clearly  the  reasons  for  his  final  expulsion  from  Toulouse  and 
the  bearing  that  his  life  there  had  on  his  after  career.  I  have  also 
shown  very  conclusively  why  Dolet  did  not  win  a  prize  in  the  Floral 
Games  in  the  contest  which  he  entered  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
May,  1534,  presenting  to  the  judges  ten  Latin  poems.  During  the 
earlier  period  of  this  literary  society,  known  as  the  period  of  the 
Gay  Science,  one  of  the  inviolable  rules  governing  the  contests  had 
been  that  the  poems  for  which  prizes  were  to  be  awarded  should  be 
written  in  langue  d'oc,  the  language  native  to  Toulouse.  When  the 
Gay  Science  was  transformed  into  the  College  of  the  Art  and 
Science  of  Rhetoric,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
French  was  substituted  for  the  native  tongue  as  the  language  in 
which  the  competing  poets  should  compose  their  works.  Every 
winning  poem  transcribed  on  the  pages  of  the  Livre  Rouge  is  in 
French.  However  superior  Dolet's  Latin  poems  may  have  been, 
he  could  not  win  a  prize  because  he  did  not  conform  to  one  of  the 
most  important  rules  laid  down  for  the  guidance  of  the  aspiring 
poets.  Dolet's  bitterness  towards  Gracien  du  Pont,  lieutenant  of 
the  seneschalty,  is  to  be  explained  in  part  by  the  fact  that  Gracien 
du  Pont  was  a  mainteneur  of  the  Floral  Games,  and  therefore  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  contest.  Dolet  entered  the  faculty  of  law  at 
Toulouse  in  1532.  As  a  freshman  or  bejaune  he  underwent  the 
usual  period  of  probation,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  "purged  of 
infection  "  and  became  a  fully  recognized  student  or  "  antique."  He 
was  at  once  elected  as  "orator"  of  the  student  fraternity  or 
"Nation"  of  France,  delivering,  in  October,  1533,  the  "oration" 
on  behalf  of  his  "nation"  at  the  first  general  assembly  of  the 
"nations"  in  the  Estudes.  Upon  this  occasion  he  clashed  with 
Pierre  Pinache,  "orator"  of  the  Gascon  nation.  In  January,  1534, 
Dolet  was  elected  head  or  Prior  of  the  Nation  of  France.  His 


Preface  xi 

election  was  followed,  probably  a  week  after  on  the  occasion  of  his 
"Triomphe,"  by  a  second  "oration,"  in  which  he  dealt  unsparingly 
with  his  enemy,  Pierre  Pinache,  and  the  Gascons.  One  of  the  first 
qualifications  demanded  of  a  Prior  was  that  he  should  be  able  to 
manipulate  skilfully  the  two-handed  sword  and  to  defend  his  fellow 
"nationnaires"  against  all  comers.  That  the  students  at  Toulouse 
were  adepts  in  wielding  the  sword  is  noted  by  Rabelais  in  his  book. 
In  1531  the  parlement  had  passed  a  decree  abolishing  the  "nations," 
but  the  fraternities  had  failed  to  disband.  In  the  spring  of  1534 
efforts  were  made  to  disperse  the  "  nations  "  by  arresting  the  ring- 
leaders. The  arrests  were  made  early  in  April  by  order  of  Gracien 
du  Pont,  lieutenant  of  the  seneschalty.  Pinache  was  in  part  at  least 
responsible  for  Dolet's  arrest.  Upon  the  intervention  of  Jean  de 
Boysson,  professor  of  law,  and  Jean  de  Pins,  bishop  of  Rieux,  Dolet 
was  released,  by  order  of  the  parlement.  He  entered  the  contest  of 
the  Floral  Games  in  May  and  failed  to  win  a  prize.  Humiliated  at 
his  arrest  and  chagrined  over  his  failure  in  the  Floral  Games,  he 
turned  the  shafts  of  his  pen  against  Gracien  du  Pont,  who  a  few 
months  previously  had  published  a  scurrilous  book  on  women.  Pur- 
sued by  his  enemies.  Dolet  fled  to  the  country  where  he  remained  in 
hiding  until  the  close  of  the  university  session  in  June,  when  a 
decree  of  expulsion  was  passed  against  him.  Accompanied  by 
Simon  Finet,  he  made  his  way  on  foot  to  Lyons,  where  some  time 
later  he  had  an  encounter  with  an  artist  by  the  name  of  Compaing 
and  killed  his  adversary  with  a  sword.  The  death  of  Compaing  led 
to  Dolet's  imprisonment  in  Lyons  and  his  final  execution  at  the  stake 
in  the  Place  Maubert  at  Paris.  In  depicting  Dolet's  career  at  Tou- 
louse, I  have  endeavored  to  portray  the  general  situation  of  the 
times  both  in  the  university  and  the  town  and  to  point  out  their  in- 
fluence upon  the  fortunes  of  the  young  humanist.  The  scholastic 
session  of  1533-34  was  one  of  the  most  turbulent  in  the  history  of 
the  university,  caused  by  the  shifting  intellectual  and  political  inter- 
ests of  the  earlier  renaissance.  The  struggles  between  the  humanists 
and  reactionaries  had  become  more  acute  owing  to  the  visit  of  King 
Francis  I  to  Toulouse  in  August,  1533.  The  hostility  between 
Dolet  and  Pinache  was  due  partly  because  they  were  "  orators  "  of 
rival  "  nations,"  in  part  to  the  strong  sectional  feeling  existing  be- 


xii  Preface 

tween  the  students  of  the  north  and  the  south,  and  also  to  the  fact 
that  as  a  "Grammarian"  Pinache  was  opposed  to  the  humanists,  of 
whom  Dolet  was  one  of  the  most  aggressive  leaders.  Two  of 
Dolet's  most  bitter  enemies  were  Pinache  and  a  certain  Maurus, 
both  of  whom  were  Grammarians.  At  the  founding  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Toulouse  in  1229,  a  provision  had  been  made  that  two 
of  the  teachers  should  be  professors  of  grammar.  A  separate 
faculty  of  grammar  arose.  Grammar  was  the  "art  of  explaining 
poets  and  historians,  the  art  of  correct  speaking  and  writing,"  and 
included  the  study  of  Donatus  and  Priscian,  together  with  many  of 
the  foremost  classical  authors.  By  the  end  of  the  middle  ages,  the 
study  of  grammar  had  become  vitiated,  and  the  reading  of  the 
ancient  authors  came  to  be  confined  to  the  elementary  reading  books 
Cato,  Aesopus  and  Avianus.  The  Cato  was  a  collection  of  maxims 
and  proverbs.  The  other  two,  as  is  obvious,  were  collections  of 
fables.  The  Grammarians  had  a  monopoly  of  teaching  the  classics 
at  Toulouse.  It  is  readily  seen  that  there  would  be  bitter  enmity 
between  these  representatives  of  the  perverted  study  of  the  classics, 
and  the  humanists,  who  stood  for  the  restoration  of  the  study  of 
the  best  classical  authors.  In  the  fall  of  1533  the  struggles  of  both 
professors  and  students  to  defend  their  privileges  became  acute,  the 
former  to  preserve  their  ancient  right  of  exemption  from  taxation, 
the  latter  to  retain  their  "  nations."  The  troubles  of  the  professors 
came  to  a  crisis  in  November  when  they  declared  a  "  cessatio "  or 
strike,  refusing  for  a  time  to  deliver  their  lectures.  Student  affairs 
culminated  the  following  spring  in  the  arrest  of  the  leaders  of  the 
"  nations."  The  efforts  of  the  capitouls  or  aldermen  to  cling  to  their 
ancient  authority  and  the  struggle  of  the  seneschalty  against  the 
growing  power  of  the  parlement  were  a  disturbing  element  and  had 
their  influence  both  on  the  life  of  the  university  and  also  on  the 
Floral  Games,  as  is  shown  by  the  pages  of  the  Livre  Rouge.  In  the 
beginning,  the  discipline  of  the  students  had  been  intrusted  by  the 
Pope  to  his  representatives  at  Toulouse.  With  the  growth  in 
authority  of  the  king  of  France,  the  students  had  gradually  come 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  seneschal  and  his  officers.  Dating 
from  the  third  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  parlement  had 
begun  to  have  a  hand  in  the  discipline  of  the  students,  and  that  its 


Preface  xiii 

authority  had  become  very  strong  in  the  period  under  discussion  is 
evidenced  by  the  increasing  number  of  decrees  passed  by  the  parle- 
ment  regulating  student  life.  The  struggle  for  precedence  at  Tou- 
louse between  the  seneschalty  and  the  parlement  increased  in  bitter- 
ness until  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  latter  gained 
a  footing  in  the  Palais  de  Justice.  From  that  moment  the  prestige 
and  authority  of  the  seneschalty  steadily  declined.  Dolet  had  been 
arrested  by  the  officers  of  the  seneschalty  and  set  free  by  the  parle- 
ment. While  his  attacks  on  Gracien  du  Pont  doubtless  had  some 
influence  on  his  flight  and  expulsion,  the  main  explanation  of  his 
misfortune  is  to  be  found  in  the  rivalry  between  these  two  bodies. 
His  expulsion  put  him  under  a  cloud,  and  it  was  the  skill  he  had 
acquired  at  Toulouse  in  the  use  of  the  sword  which  enabled  him 
later  to  kill  his  adversary,  Compaing.  Thus  I  have  attempted  to 
point  out  the  direct  bearing  of  Dolet's  student  life  upon  his  mar- 
tyrdom and  to  show  that  his  career  as  a  humanist  was  only  in  part 
responsible  for  his  tragic  fate.  The  charge  of  heresy  served  merely 
as  a  pretext  to  procure  his  execution. 

Part  I  of  this  study,  dealing  with  the  Floral  Games,  has  been  ac- 
cepted in  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  of 
doctor  of  philosophy  in  Columbia  University.  Owing  to  the  exces- 
sive cost  of  printing  which  prevails  at  present,  I  have  limited  this 
publication  to  Part  I,  but  expect  later  to  publish  the  work  in  its 
entirety.  In  addition,  I  am  expecting  to  make  a  study  of  the  Floral 
Games  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries. 

In  writing  this  book  I  have  had  the  advice  and  assistance  of 
Professors  J.  L.  Gerig  and  H.  A.  Todd,  who  have  specialized  in  the 
fields  represented  in  the  work  of  investigation.  Professor  Gerig's 
broad  knowledge  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  Professor  Todd's 
rare  scholarship  in  Provengal  language  and  literature  have  been  of 
inestimable  value  to  me  in  the  preparation  of  the  work.  Professor 
Raymond  Weeks,  a  specialist  in  Old  and  Modern  French  literature, 
has  offered  valuable  suggestions,  and  has  furnished  me  with  several 
notes.  He  carefully  scrutinized  each  chapter  in  manuscript.  To 
all  of  these  professors  I  wish  to  acknowledge  a  deep  debt  of  grati- 
tude. They  have  been  unusually  sympathetic  and  have  given  me 
every  encouragement  in  the  prosecution  of  the  task.  I  am  espe- 


xiv  Preface 

cially  grateful  to  Professor  Anglade  and  to  M.  de  Gelis,  as  well  as 
to  the  other  Mainteneurs  of  the  Floral  Games.  Miss  I.  G.  Mudge, 
reference  librarian  of  the  Columbia  University  Library,  deserves 
thanks  for  her  untiring  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  and 
has  been  of  great  assistance  in  the  assembling  of  books  bearing  on 
the  subjects  of  the  several  chapters. 

JOHN  C.  DAWSON. 
Columbia  University, 
May,  1921. 


PART  I 
THE  FLORAL  GAMES  OF  TOULOUSE. 

(Les  Jeux  Floraux.} 

FOUNDED  three  hundred  years  before  the  French  Academy,  the 
society  of  the  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  is  the  oldest  of  the 
modern  academies  of  France,  forming  a  connecting  link  with  the 
middle  ages  and  the  Troubadours.  The  purpose  of  the  founders  of 
this  literary  association,  which  in  the  beginning  was  known  as  the 
Gay  Science,  was  to  foster  lyric  poetry,  in  the  native  language, 
the  langue  d'oc  or  Provengal  (in  its  later  development  called  some- 
what infelicitously  by  Raynouard  and  his  followers  the  langue 
rontane).  The  old  Provengal  Poetry  had  reached  its  height  in 
the  twelfth  century,  and  the  decline  of  the  Troubadours  and  their 
poetry  came  early  in  the  thirteenth  century  with  the  crusade  against 
the  Albigenses,  when  the  Troubadours  were  scattered  far  and  wide, 
the  nobility  wiped  out  or  ruined,  and  the  splendid  civilization  of 
south  France  broken  up.  However,  the  poetic  tradition  lingered, 
and  the  popularity  of  poetry  and  its  appeal  to  all  classes  of  people 
was  still  very  strong  in  the  fourteenth  century.1  Before  its  decline, 
the  Troubadour  poetry  had  been  essentially  aristocratic,  intended 

1  Guilhem  Molinier,  in  announcing  to  the  public  of  his  day  the  "  promul- 
gation"  of  the  Leys  d' Amors  (Laws  of  Poetry;  the  poet  was  known  as  the 
Fin  Amanf),  a  combined  "Rhetoric"  and  "Art  of  Poetry,"  or  code  of  laws, 
drawn  up  for  the  guidance  of  young  poets  of  the  Floral  Games,  sent  out  a  letter 
in  verse,  which  is  evidence  of  the  wide  appeal  which  poetry  still  possessed  in 
the  fourteenth  century: 

"  Als  excellens  e  redoptatz 

Reys,  princeps,  dux,  marques  e  comtes, 

Dalfis,  admiratz  e  vescomtes, 

Doctors,  maestres,  cavayers, 

Licentiatz  e  bacheliers, 

Baros,  nautz,  justiciers,  borgues, 

Aptes  escudiers  e  cortes, 

Avinens  mercadiers  e  gays, 

Francs  menestrals  sobtils.  .  .  ." 

— Las  Leys  d' Amors  (tome  i,  p.  39), 
edited  by  Joseph  Anglade,  Toulouse,  Privat,  1919. 

i 


2  Toulouse 'in  the  Renaissance 

for  the  nobility  and  for  the  courts,  appealing  to  the  middle  classes 
but  rarely,  and  to  the  common  people  not  at  all.2  Distinctly  a 
product  of  the  feudal  society  of  southern  France,  the  Troubadour 
poetry  was  produced  for  the  entertainment  of  the  nobles  in  manor- 
house  and  chateau.  The  nobles  themselves,  even  kings  and  princes, 
pursued  the  art  of  poetry  and  became  patrons  and  protectors  of  the 
Troubadours.  With  the  passing  of  the  poets,  the  last  princely  pro- 
tectors of  the  Troubadours  had  disappeared.  It  is  significant  that 
only  one  of  the  seven  founders  of  the  Gay  Science  (Gay a  Sciensa) 
was  of  the  nobility.8  With  one  exception  these  men  belonged  to  the 
bonne  bourgeoisie  of  the  times.  The  rise  of  the  middle  class  dates 
from  the  thirteenth  century.  While  the  influence  of  the  impover- 
ished nobility  was  waning,  the  bourgeoisie,  engaging  in  successful 
trade  and  commercial  enterprises,  became  enriched,  and  its  influence 
increased  in  proportion  to  its  economic  independence.  Along  with 
the  acquisition  of  wealth  came  the  temptation  to  imitate  the  nobility 
by  becoming  protectors  of  poetry ;  and  while  the  term  "  Trouba- 
dour," as  applied  to  themselves  by  the  seven  founders  of  the  Gay 
Science,  may  not  be  strictly  correct,  they  were  at  any  rate  the  patrons 
and  protectors  of  the  Troubadours  and  the  mainteneurs  of  the  beau 
langage  rowan.4  So  far  as  is  known,  only  one  of  the  Seven  was  a 
poet,  the  dantoiseau  Bernard  de  Panassac,  two  of  whose  poems  have 
survived,  one  addressed  to  the  Virgin,  the  other  a  profane  chanson.5 
In  response  to  the  appeal  of  the  VII  Troubadours,  poets  from 
various  places  assembled  in  Toulouse,  bringing  with  them  their 
poems.  They  were  "  right  honorably  "  received  by  the  VII  Trouba- 
dours and  the  capitouls  or  aldermen  of  the  city.  The  exercises  occu- 

1  H.  J.  Chaytor :  The  Troubadours,  p.  10.    Cambridge  University  Press,  1912. 

3  The  only  noble  among  the  founders  of  the  Floral  Games  was  Bernard  de 
Panassac,   seigneur  of   Arrouede,  who  was   a  routier   (brigand)    of  the  most 
dangerous  type.    About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1336,  he  was  accused  of  having 
contributed,   along   with   other   Gascon   lords,   to   the  assassination    of   Geraud 
d'Aguin,  dantoiseau.      Panassac's  chateau  of  Arrouede  s«rved  as  a  refuge  for 
murderers  who  had  been  banished,  not  only  from  the  seneschalty  of  Toulouse, 
but  from  the  whole  kingdom  of  France. 

4  F.  de  Gelis :  Histoire  critique  des  Jeux  Floraux,  Toulouse,  Privat,  1912, 
P-  13- 

•Joseph  Anglade:  Les  Origines  du  Gai  Savoir,  Recueil  de  I'Academie  des 
Jeux  Floraux,  1919,  p.  183.  Also,  his  edition  of  the  Leys  d'Amors,  Toulouse, 
Privat,  1920,  t.  iv,  p.  19. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  3 

pied  three  days,  and  on  the  last  day,  May  3,  1324,  the  prize,  a 
Golden  Violet  ( Violeta  del  aur) ,  was  awarded  to  the  poet  Arnaud 
Vidal,  of  Castelnaudary,  for  a  chanson  in  honor  of  the  Virgin : 

Mayres  de  Dieu,  verges  pura, 
Vas  vos  me  vir  de  cor  pur, 
Ab  esperanza  segura,  etc.* 

During  the  mediaeval  period,  the  society  of  the  Floral  Games 
was  known  as  the  Consistory  of  the  Gay  Science  (Gaya  Sciensa: 
otherwise  called  Gay  Saber).  Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  the 
Consistory  became  the  College  of  Rhetoric  (College  de  I' Art  et  Sci- 
ence de  Rhetorique) ,  and  French  took  the  place  of  the  langue  d'oc  as 
the  language  of  the  competing  poets.  In  1694,  letters  patent  granted 
by  the  King,  Louis  XIV,  converted  the  society  into  an  institution  of 
state  under  the  name  of  "  Academy  of  the  Floral  Games  of  Tou- 
louse "  (Acadcmie  des  Jeux  Floraux}.  Since  the  end  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  the  society  had  been  popularly  known  under  the  title 
Jeux  Floraux?  apparently  an  effect  of  the  influence  of  the  Renais- 
sance— a  reminiscence  of  the  ancient  Floral  Games  at  Rome. 

CONSISTORY  OF  THE  GAY  SCIENCE. 

On  Tuesday  after  All  Saints'  Day  of  the  year  1323,  the  "  right 
gay  company  of  the  VII  Troubadours  of  Toulouse,"  as  they  had 
styled  themselves, 

La  Sobregaya  Companhia 
Dels  .VII.  Trobadors  de  Tolosa, 

met  under  a  laurel  tree  in  a  garden  or  grove  in  one  of  the  fau- 
bourgs of  Toulouse,  and  sent  out  a  letter  in  verse  to  all  the  poets  of 
the  langue  d'oc,  inviting  them  to  appear  on  the  first  of  May  of  the 
following  year  (1324)  for  a  poetic  tournament  in  Toulouse.  The 
names  and  callings  of  these  VII  Troubadours  have  been  preserved. 

•  Noulet :  Recueil  de  Poesie  en  Langue  Romane,  "  Las  Joyas  del  gay  saber," 
p.  3.  The  poem  is  here  called  a  ciruentes,  but  it  is  a  chanson. 

7  The  first  official  mention  of  this  title  is  to  be  found  in  the  Secretary's 
record  (Le  Livre  Rouge)  for  the  year  1555.  For  the  significance  of  the  earliest 
title,  consult  Anglade's  edition  of  the  Leys  d' Amors,  t.  i,  pages  ^  and  8;  also,  t.  4. 


4  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

One  was  a  noble  (damoiseau) ,  one  a  bourgeois,8  two  were  bankers, 
two  merchants,  and  one  a  notary. 

Thus  was  established  the  ancient  and  honorable  Academy  of 
the  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse.  The  time  of  the  first  meeting,  May 
1-3,  was  adopted  as  the  date  for  the  annual  reunion  of  the  poets,  a 
code  of  laws  or  art  of  poetry  (Leys  d' 'Amors)  was  drawn  up 
under  the  leadership  of  Guilhem  Molinier,9  and  the  cultivation  of 
the  Muses  in  the  langue  d'oc  continued  to  the  period  of  the  Renais- 
sance. The  list  of  winning  poems  of  this  earlier  period  exhibits 
a  variety  of  poetic  forms:  sirventes,  canso,  vers,  planh,  complanh, 
pastorela,  dansa,  letra.  They  are  generally  of  a  religious  or  patri- 
otic import,  the  majority  of  them  being  addressed  to  the  Virgin 
Mary.  The  distinctly  religious  tendency  of  the  society  and  the 
nature  of  its  poetry  are  well  expressed  by  the  author  of  the  Leys 
d' Amors: 

"  In  times  past,  there  were  in  the  royal  and  noble  city  of  Toulouse, 
seven  distinguished  seigneurs,  learned,  subtle  and  discreet,  who  pos- 
sessed a  good  desire  and  a  great  affection  for  finding  this  noble,  excel- 
lent, marvellous,  and  virtuous  Dame  Science,  that  she  might  give  and 
furnish  them  with  the  gay  knowledge  of  writing  in  verse,  in  order  to 
know  how  to  compose  good  poems  in  rowan,  whence  they  might  be  able 
to  say  and  recite  good  and  remarkable  words,  in  order  to  give  good 
doctrines  and  good  instructions,  in  the  praise  and  honor  of  God,  our 
Lord,  and  of  his  glorious  Mother,  and  of  all  the  Saints  in  Paradise, 
for  the  teaching  of  the  ignorant,  for  restraining  mad  and  foolish 
lovers,  for  living  with  joy  and  mirth,  and  for  fleeing  ennui  and  sadness, 
enemies  of  the  Gay  Science."10 

Although  only  one  prize,  the  Golden  Violet  (Violeta  del  aur} 
was  offered  in  the  beginning,  it  was  not  long  before  two  others  were 
added:  the  Eglantine  (Ayglentina  or  Englantind)  and  the  Mari- 
gold (Gauch:  French  Souci),  which  were  of  silver.  Throughout 
this  earlier  period  the  Violet  was  considered  the  principal  ioya  or 

8  The  term  bourgeois  seems  to  be,  in  this  connection,  almost  the  equivalent 
to  a  title  of  nobility. 

9  Et  adonc  comezero  de  bocca  a  mestre  Guilhem  Molinier,  savi  en  dreg,  que 
el  fes  e  compiles  las  ditas  reglas,  etc.     Leys  d' Amors,  edit.  Anglade,  t.  I,  p.  14. 

10  Joseph  Anglade :  Origines  du  Gai  Sovoir,  Recueil  de  I' Academic  des  Jeux 
Floraux,  1919,  p.  179.     Las  Leys  d' Amors,  t.  I,  p.  8. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  5 

prize,  and  the  more  dignified  forms  of  verse  were  reserved  for  it. 
A  study  of  the  winning  poems  that  have  been  preserved11  shows 
that  the  principal  prize  was  always  bestowed  for  poems  written  in 
the  form  of  a  canso,  or  vers.  While  the  poem  of  Arnaud  Vidal, 
who  was  the  first  to  win  a  prize,  is  described  as  a  sirventes,  it  is  in 
reality  a  canso.  The  only  exceptions  to  the  above  rule  are  one 
example  of  the  planh  and  one  of  the  pastorela.12 

Latin  civilization  had  been  transplanted  to  southern  Gaul  during 
the  period  of  the  greatest  glory  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Lyons, 
Avignon,  Aries,  Marseilles,  Narbonne,  Nimes  and  Toulouse  became 
centers  of  Roman  culture  at  its  best.  The  museums  of  Toulouse  and 
Aries,  the  Maison  carree,  Temple  of  Diana,  and  the  Arena  at 
Nimes,  the  Theatre  of  Orange,  and  the  old  Roman  walled  city  of 
Aiguesmortes,  are  all  mute  and  silent  reminders  of  a  past  glory. 
With  the  decay  of  the  Empire,  this  civilization  became  gradually 
transformed  into  a  brilliant  feudal  and  chivalric  society.  The  cul- 
ture of  the  past  was  not  lost,  but  transmuted,  finding  its  expression 
in  the  lyric  art  of  the  Troubadours.  Lyric  poetry,  as  we  have  it 
preserved  in  the  great  literatures,  is  the  offspring  of  an  advanced 
civilization.  While  the  elegant  Troubadours  of  the  south  were  sing- 
ing their  refined  and  intricate  lays  at  the  courts  of  sovereign  princes, 
or  in  the  manor  houses  and  chateaux  which  dotted  the  country-side, 
their  ruder  brothers  of  the  north,  the  Trouveres,  were  singing  in 
epic  strains  the  death  of  Roland,  the  prowess  of  Charlemagne  and 
his  twelve  peers,  the  deeds  of  recalcitrant  nobles,  or  the  adventures 
of  the  Crusades.  With  the  ancient  Provincia  as  his  base,  Caesar 
had,  in  eight  successive  campaigns,  covering  as  many  summers,  con- 
quered from  the  Gauls  the  territory  of  the  west  and  north.  And 
while  the  north  underwent  the  influence  of  Roman  civilization,  it 
was  the  culture  of  Rome  in  its  declining  days,  and  it  was  a  retarded 
civilization.  The  result  was,  that  while  the  south  produced  a  refined 

11  See  Noulet's  edition  of  the  Fleurs  du  gai  Savoir. 

12  In    1471    Berenger    de   1'Hospital   had    for   his   subject   the    struggle    of 
western   Europe  against  the  Turks,  a  contemporary  event.     Because  he  had 
treated  a  subject  of  vital  interest  rather  than  one  of  the  conventional  themes, 
he  was  awarded  the  prize,  although  neither  the  planh  nor  the  pastorela  were 
forms  for  which  the  Violet  was  usually  awarded.    By  treating  a  subject  of  live, 
contemporary  interest,  the  young  poet  introduced  a  new  element  into  the  con- 
tests of  the  Gay  Science. 


6  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

literature  of  an  advanced  civilization,  at  the  corresponding  period 
the  poets  of  the  north  were  composing  epics,  the  outgrowth  of  a 
more  primitive  life. 

The  poetry  of  the  Troubadours,  with  its  ennobling  themes  of 
chivalry  and  love,  was  not  only  a  source  of  amusement  and  enter- 
tainment, but  it  was  a  powerful  force  in  the  social  and  political  life 
of  the  times,  and  the  Troubadour's  position  in  southern  society  was 
in  a  way  somewhat  comparable  to  that  of  the  journalist  of  the 
present  day.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  the  troubled  life  of  his 
times,  and  the  fierce  invectives  of  his  sirventes  were  as  much  feared 
by  the  powerful  lords  of  his  day  as  is  the  violent  editorial  by  the 
politician  of  the  present.  Not  only  did  he  wield  his  pen  with  deadly 
effect,  but  he  injected  himself  frequently  in  other  ways  into  the 
movements  of  his  time.  So  violent  a  sower  of  strife  was  Bertran 
de  Born,  that  Dante,  in  his  Divine  Comedy,  placed  the  old  Trouba- 
dour in  hell,  "and  there  is  no  need  to  describe  his  picture  of  the 
Troubadour  " 

"Who  held  the  severed  member  lanternwise 
And  said,  Ah  me!"      (Inf.  xxviii,  119-142.) 

The  greatest  lords  sought  the  good  will  of  the  Troubadour,  and  the 
fairest  ladies  were  proud  of  becoming  the  inspiration  of  his  verses ; 
for  it  was  held  a  peculiarly  great  honor  in  those  days  for  a  lady  to 
become  the  object  of  the  affection  and  admiration  of  a  poet. 

If  the  Troubadours  inspired  noble  and  chivalric  thoughts  in 
palace  and  chateau,  their  humbler  companions,  the  Joglars  (French : 
Jongleurs) ,  who  frequently  sang  or  recited  their  masters'  improvisa- 
tions, spread  throughout  the  land  a  taste  for  poetry  and  music; 
beneath  the  branches  of  the  ancient  village  oak,  or  in  the  shadow 
cast  by  the  elms  at  the  well  in  the  public  square,  the  common  people 
would  assemble,  after  the  occupations  of  the  day,  to  hear  and  to 
repeat  the  songs  sung  by  the  Joglar  to  the  accompaniment  of  the 
vielle.  Young  girls  and  amorous  youths  lent  breathless  attention 
to  the  loves  of  Guilhem  de  Cabestanh  and  the  beautiful  Sermande. 
We  can  imagine  them  shivering  with  horror  when  Raymond  de 
Castel-Roussillon  informed  his  wife  that  she  had  just  eaten  the  heart 
of  her  lover,  and  all  eyes  would  be  filled  with  tears  when  the  unfortu- 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  7 

nate  chatelaine,  in  response  to  her  husband's  demand  as  to  how  she 
liked  her  frightful  meal,  replied  that  she  had  found  it  so  good  that 
she  would  never  eat  another,  rushed  to  the  window  of  the  castle  and 
hurled  herself  into  the  yawning  abyss.  Turning  from  sterner  pic- 
tures of  love  and  hate,  of  infidelity  and  revenge,  the  Joglar  would 
relieve  the  gloomy  impression  which  had  been  produced  upon  his 
audience.  To  the  serious  song  succeeded  the  gay  refrain  and  verses 
filled  with  covert  malice  toward  the  lords  and  princes.  As  the  Joglar 
sings  his  lay  and  thrums  the  strings  of  his  vielle,  a  distant  sound  is 
heard.  All  turn,  and  in  the  distance  is  descried  a  gray-robed  pil- 
grim, who  approaches  chanting  solemn  hymns  of  the  sublime  mys- 
teries. For  a  moment  the  Joglar  ceases  to  be  the  center  of  interest, 
and  all  listen  to  the  pilgrim's  tales  of  journeys  to  holy  places  and  to 
the  land  of  miracles.  The  pilgrim  passes,  and  new  interest  is  found 
in  the  music  of  the  hautbois  and  tambourin — a  prelude  to  the  dance 
on  the  village  green.13 

Although  the  princely  families  were  broken  up  and  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  Troubadour  sadly  diminished,  the  spirit  of  poesy  re- 
mained abroad  in  the  land,  and  the  Troubadours  found  their  suc- 
cessors in  the  bourgeois  society  of  Toulouse  of  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries.  And  while  the  life  of  the  poets  of  the  Floral 
Games  lacks  the  picturesqueness  of  that  of  their  ancestors,  it  is  not 
without  its  interest.  A  mural  painting  in  the  Hotel  de  Ville  at  Tou- 
louse portrays  the  poetic  contests  which  were  held  in  a  pleasant 
grove  outside  the  city  walls.  Upon  a  rostrum  erected  under  the 
symbolic  branches  of  a  laurel  tree  stands  the  poet  facing  the 
judges  of  the  contest.  In  his  hand  he  holds  a  scroll  or  parchment 
upon  which  is  inscribed  a  rhythmic  prayer  to  the  holy  Virgin, 
mother  of  God,  or  an  invocation  to  one  of  the  saints  in  paradise. 
In  measured  or  impassioned  tones,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  seeker 
after  Dame  Science  recites  his  composition,  which  is  listened  to  in 
enraptured  silence  by  the  imposing  audience  grouped  about  the 
speaker's  stand.  As  the  assembled  throng  hears  the  liquid  syllables 
flow  from  the  mouth  of  the  poet,  one  of  the  auditors,  a  mere  youth, 
in  whose  breast  perhaps  the  divine  fire  of  the  Muses  is  already  stir- 
ring, starts  forward,  drinking  in  with  eager  attention,  the  lines  of 
the  canso  or  vers. 

18  Moline  de  Saint  Yon :  Histoire  des  Comtes  de  Toulouse,  vol.  i,  p.  545. 


8  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Poetry  is  not  dead ;  but  instead  of  dwelling  in  the  great  mansion 
as  the  companion  of  noble  lords  and  fair  chatelaines,  she  has  been 
caught  up  in  the  all-embracing  arms  of  the  church  and  henceforth, 
for  two  centuries,  will  be  but  a  handmaiden  to  serve  the  church's 
interests.  In  the  course  of  time,  the  religious  fervor  which  ruled 
the  spirits  of  men  at  the  beginning  of  the  Gay  Science,  lessens  and 
grows  lukewarm ;  the  power  and  authority  of  the  church  weakens, 
and  men  begin  to  have  disturbing  and  rebellious  thoughts  on  the 
subject  of  religion.  The  language  and  ideas  of  the  victorious 
north  have  gradually  won  their  way  into  the  centre  of  the  con- 
quered country;  along  with  the  lessening  of  religious  fervor,  the 
poets  of  the  Gay  Science  tire  of  writing  in  their  ancient  tongue,  and 
become  weary  of  the  constant  annual  repetition  of  the  ancient  Pro- 
venc,al  forms  of  verse.  As  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  draws 
near,  the  languishing  spirit  of  the  Gay  Science  all  but  dies.  With 
the  advent  of  Louis  XII,  the  influences  from  the  north  penetrate 
with  renewed  vigor.  Lacking  within  herself  the  power  of  renas- 
cence, Dame  Science  forms  a  union  with  Dame  Rhetoric,  and  for 
two  centuries  more  the  poetry  of  the  Floral  Games  becomes  the 
grafted  product  of  the  dying  spirit  of  the  south  and  the  decadent 
spirit  of  the  north.14  During  this  period  the  poets  lack  inspiration, 
poetry  expresses  itself  in  the  narrow  trammels  of  the  ballade  and 
chant  royal,  and  comes  to  be  written  in  a  language  that  is  foreign 
to  the  poets  and  to  which  they  adapt  themselves  only  with  difficulty. 
The  simplicity  of  the  reunions  in  the  garden  outside  the  city  walls 
has  been  replaced  by  formal  gatherings  in  the  city  hall.  The  dis- 
interested spirit  of  the  early  founders  becomes  replaced  by  the  desire 
for  honors,  and  the  office  of  mainteneur  is  sought  more  and  more 
frequently  by  the  regents  of  the  university,  the  higher  officers  of 
the  seneschalty  and  the  members  of  the  parlement.15  With  the  rise 
of  the  parlement  to  the  first  place  of  influence,  the  offices  of  the 
Floral  Games  are  more  and  more  preempted  by  it,  until  by  the 
seventeenth  century,  the  society  has  become,  as  it  were,  an  adjunct 
of  the  parlement,  and  the  red  robe  of  the  parlementaires  becomes 

14  Dumege,  Histoire  des  institutions  de  Toulouse  (tome  4),  mentions  the 
Rhetorical  influence,  but  does  not  develop  the  subject. 

18  The  French  form  of  this  word  is  preserved  throughout  in  preference  to 
the  English  word  "parliament." 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  9 

the  symbol  of  the  pomp,  display  and  conventionality  surrounding 
the  annual  reunions.  No  longer  do  the  poets  from  the  plains  of 
Gascony  and  the  valley  of  the  Aude  turn  their  faces  each  passing 
year  toward  the  city  of  the  Muses.  The  cultivation  of  poetry  be- 
comes an  exercise  of  the  students  in  the  university  and  the  clerks 
of  the  Basoche,16  and  whatever  of  inspiration  these  may  possess  is 
stifled  by  the  religious  traditions  descending  from  Dame  Science 
and  the  restricting  and  artificial  trammels  of  the  chant  royal,  the 
legacy  of  Dame  Rhetoric.  The  result  is,  that  for  two  hundred 
years  not  a  single  poem  above  the  second  order  is  produced  by  the 
contestants  for  honors  in  the  Floral  Games.  And  yet,  notwith- 
standing the  mediocrity  in  general  of  the  poems  for  which  are 
awarded  prizes  at  the  annual  reunions,  the  society  exerts  a  whole- 
some influence  on  poetry;  and  French  literature,  as  we  shall  see, 
becomes  enriched  by  it. 

COLLEGE  OF  THE  ART  AND  SCIENCE  OF  RHETORIC 

The  second  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Floral  Games,  that  of  the 
College  of  Rhetoric,  extends  from  1513  to  1694.  The  principal 
sources  of  information  concerning  this  period  are  the  secretary's 
record  known  as  the  Livre  Rouge,  extending  from  1513  to  1641 ; 
and  from  the  latter  date  to  the  raising  of  the  society  to  the  rank  of 
an  Academy  under  royal  protection  in  1694,  the  "  Triumphs " 
(TriompHes)  of  the  winning  poets.  The  Triomphes  were  little 
volumes  of  poems  published  usually  by  Colomies  or  Boude,  bearing 
symbolic  and  frequently  fantastic  titles,  such  as :  Le  Mont  de  Par- 
nasse  pour  le  Triomphe  de  la  Violette,  Les  Larmes  de  Clytie,  pour 
le  Triomphe  du  Soucy,  or  Le  Vice  abattu  et  la  Vertu  triomphante 
pour  le  Triomphe  de  l'£glantine.  In  them  the  poet  included  his 
winning  poem,  a  number  of  other  compositions  which  he  had  in  all 
probability  read  before  the  judges,  and  the  madrigals  of  praise  and 
congratulation  composed  by  his  friends.  The  Livre  Rouge  is  a 
precious  record,  without  which  very  little  could  be  known  of  the 
Floral  Games  in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance.  It  was  begun  in 

16  The  Association  of  the  Clerks  of  the  Parlement.  The  Basoche  (basilica) 
at  Paris  had  considerable  influence  on  the  history  of  French  comedy.  The 
corporation  passed  out  of  existence  at  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution. 


io  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

1550  by  the  greffier  or  secretary,  Bernard  Coderci,  who  inserted  into 
his  book  all  of  the  loose  leaf  records  he  could  find  from  previous 
years.  The  two  volumes  of  manuscripts  of  the  Livre  Rouge,  pre- 
served in  the  archives  of  the  Floral  Games  at  Toulouse,  are  of  the 
format  petit  in-folio,  and  contain  the  annual  proceedings  of  the 
College  of  Rhetoric  from  1513  to  1641.  The  first  of  them  covers 
the  period  1513-1583 ;  the  second  that  of  1584-1641.  Each  of  them 
contains  363  sheets,  or  in  all,  1452  pages,  written  in  cursive  and 
Gothic  characters,  displaying  the  most  varied  specimens  of  the 
handwritings  in  vogue  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies. In  them  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  the  chancellors,  main- 
teneurs,  maitres,  capitouls,  the  candidates  who  competed  for  honors, 
and  the  texts  of  the  winning  poems  for  which  were  awarded  the 
Violet,  the  Eglantine,  and  the  Marigold  in  the  annual  contests 
of  the  third  of  May.  The  original  cover  of  the  first  of  these 
volumes  caused  it  to  be  called  the  Livre  Rouge.  The  second  volume, 
also  because  of  the  color  of  its  cover,  was  known  as  the  Livre  Vert. 
The  two  volumes,  now  in  uniform  binding,  red  morocco  with  gros 
filets  dores,  are  commonly  known  as  the  Livre  Rouge.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  each  volume  are  illuminated  pages  representing  Christ  on 
the  Cross,  together  with  four  short  extracts  from  the  Gospels 
according  to  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John.  It  was  upon  this 
illuminated  text  that  new  officials  took  the  oath  of  office,  swearing 
fidelity  to  the  society  and  its  interests.  Up  to  1550  the  annual 
records  were  evidently  left  in  loose-leaf  form  and,  with  the  excep- 
tions noted  just  below,  were  lost.  Owing  to  the  forethought  of  the 
secretary,  Bernard  Coderci,  the  proces-verbaux  for  the  years  1513, 
I5I9»  J535»  *  539-*  549.  were  included  in  the  new  book,  and  they 
are  a  source  of  valuable  information  on  the  Floral  Games  during 
the  earlier  Renaissance.17  From  the  year  1550  the  complete  record 
was  preserved  of  the  three  annual  sittings :  that  of  the  first  of  April 
(Sejnonce},  that  of  the  first  of  May  (Ouverture  des  Jeux},  and 
that  of  the  third  of  May  (Distribution  des  prix}. 

17  During  the  late  war,  Monsieur  Francois  de  Gelis,  mainteneur  of  the 
Floral  Games,  was,  on  account  of  the  state  of  his  health,  honorably  discharged 
from  the  French  army.  He  spent  the  period  of  convalescence  in  transcribing 
and  editing  the  contents  of  the  Livre  Rouge.  The  present  writer  was  permitted 
to  bring  this  manuscript  copy  to  America,  and  it  has  become  the  basis  of  his 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  n 

Both  the  decadence  of  the  langue  d'oc  in  the  fifteenth  century 
and  the  progress  toward  the  unification  of  the  kingdom  of  France, 
had  their  influence  upon  the  substitution  of  French  for  the  old  native 
language  in  the  poetic  contests  of  the  Consistory  of  Gay  Science. 
The  triumph  of  French  over  Latin  as  the  official  language  of  France, 
came  with  the  decree  of  Villers-Cotterets  promulgated  by  Francis  I 
in  1539;  but  the  complete  ascendancy  of  French  as  the  national 
language  was  delayed  until  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  of  sig- 
nificance, therefore,  that  French  made  its  appearance  in  Toulouse 
as  a  literary  language  as  early  as  1513,  the  year  in  which  the  native 
langue  d'oc  appeared  for  the  last  time  in  the  poetic  contests  of  the 
Floral  Games.  Although  the  young  poets  were  permitted  to  read 
poems  in  their  native  tongue  in  the  annual  gatherings  throughout 
the  sixteenth  century,  in  no  case  was  a  prize  given  for  a  poem  in  any 
language  except  French.  Coincident  with  the  change  of  language 
was  the  change  of  name  to  that  of  the  College  of  the  Art  and  Science 
of  Rhetoric  (College  de  I' Art  et  Science  de  Rhetorique),  a  title 
clearly  inspired  by  the  reigning  school  of  French  poets,  the  Rhetori- 
cians (Grands  Rhetoriqueurs) .  With  the  change  of  language  also 
came  a  change  of  form  in  which  winning  poems  must  be  composed. 
We  have  noted  previously  the  various  forms  that  were  in  vogue  in 
the  period  of  the  Gay  Science.  These  old  Provencal  genres  were 
replaced  by  the  ballade  and  chant  royal.  Since  the  vers  and  canso 
were  the  traditional  forms  for  which  the  main  prize,  the  Violet,  had 
been  awarded,  it  is  probable  that  these  two  survived  longer  than  any 
of  the  others.  At  any  rate,  in  1513  (date  of  the  beginning  of  the 
records  in  the  Livre  Rouge)  we  find  that  one  of  the  prizes  was 
awarded  for  a  vers  and  the  other  two  for  ballades.  In  1519,  the 
next  year  in  which  the  Livre  Rouge  contains  a  record  all  three  of 
them  were  awarded  for  ballades.  By  that  time  the  ballade  had 
become  recognized  as  the  sole  form  in  the  awarding  of  prizes.  No 
mention  is  made  in  the  Leys  d' Amors,  the  handbook  of  the  earlier 
poets,  of  the  ballada  or  ballade.  In  the  poems  of  the  Gay  Science 

work.  The  manuscript  copy  is  a  faithful  and  accurate  transcription,  line  for 
line  and  page  for  page,  of  the  original.  The  annotations  which  it  contains  are 
of  a  scholarly  and  illuminating  character,  and  they  have  been  of  invaluable 
assistance  to  the  writer  in  acquiring  a  comprehensive  and  appreciative  knowl- 
edge of  the  records  contained  in  the  Livre  Rouge. 


12  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

that  have  come  down  to  us,  occur  no  poems  designated  by  this 
name.  A  form  of  balada  had  been  cultivated  by  the  ancient  Trou- 
badours, but  it  had  nothing  in  common  with  the  ballade  except  that 
it  had  a  refrain.  The  last  extant  poem  of  the  Gay  Science  is  of  the 
year  1498.  The  use  of  the  ballade  evidently  came  into  vogue  in  the 
Floral  Games  between  this  date  and  1513.  The  life  of  the  ballade 
in  the  contests  of  the  Floral  Games  was  comparatively  short.  As 
stated  above,  the  winning  poems  of  1513  consisted  of  one  vers  and 
two  ballades.  By  1519  the  ballade,  evidently  an  importation  from 
north  France,  had  fully  superseded  the  vers,  and  the  transition  to  a 
north  French  form  was  then  complete.  But  there  soon  came  a 
struggle  between  the  ballade  and  the  chant  royal.  In  1539,  the  first 
year  for  which  the  winning  poems  are  transcribed  on  the  pages  of 
the  Livre  Rouge,  we  find  two  poems,  one  of  which  is  a  ballade  and 
the  other  a  chant  royal.  By  1540,  all  of  the  winning  poems  are 
chants  royaux,  and  while  an  occasional  ballade  is  found  in  the 
records  after  that  year,  1540  may  be  accepted  as  the  date  of  the  con- 
quest of  the  chant  royal  over  its  rival.  The  year  1554  marks  the 
introduction  into  the  records  of  the  sonnet,  but  at  no  time  was  a 
prize  ever  awarded  for  a  poem  of  this  genre.  The  inclusion  of  an 
occasional  sonnet  along  with  a  winning  chant  royal  shows  that  the 
poets  of  the  Floral  Games  were  in  the  habit  of  reading  other  than 
the  conventional  forms  before  the  judges.  In  the  course  of  time,  the 
sonnet  became  the  only  one  used  in  the  Essay,  an  impromptu  trial 
by  which  the  merits  of  the  various  candidates  were  tested.18  From 

18  The  Essay,  established  in  1540,  developed  into  a  regular  feature  of  the 
annual  contests.  In  the  year  mentioned,  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  were 
several  candidates  of  apparently  equal  skill  and  merit,  the  judges  had  difficulty 
in  coming  to  a  decision.  In  order  to  determine  the  winners,  they  resorted  to  an 
impromptu  test  which  they  called  examen.  The  device  was  resorted  to  again 
the  following  year,  and  was  then  called  the  Essay.  Such  tests  became  a  regular 
practice,  and  the  name  Essay  was  adopted.  By  1565  the  practice  arose  of 
selecting  a  group  of  candidates,  whose  works  were  clearly  superior,  for  the 
trial  by  Essay.  This  was  done  regardless  of  difficulty  in  selecting  the  winners, 
and  the  custom  prevailed  throughout  the  period  (at  least)  covered  by  the 
Livre  Rouge.  The  purpose  of  the  Essay  was  to  test  the  candidates'  ability 
to  compose  verses  on  the  spot.  The  aspiring  poets  wefe  assigned  a  "  last  line  " 
of  poetry  by  the  judges,  as  for  example, 

"  La  chaleuf  du  soleil  est  la  vie  du  monde," 
upon  which  they  were  to  construct  their  verses.    At  first,  the  poems  thus  com- 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  13 

1540,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  ballades  and  an  oraison  a  Dieu 
by  which  Jehan  Flavin  won  the  Violet  in  1548,  the  chant  royal  is 
the  sole  form  for  which  prizes  are  awarded,  fitienne  Pasquier  in 
his  Recherches  (liv.  vii)  says: 

"  Vray  que  comme  toutes  choses  se  changent  selon  la  diversite  des 
temps,  aussi  apres  que  nostre  Poesie  f rangoise  fut  demeuree  quelques 
longues  annees  en  friche,  on  commenga  d'enter  sur  son  vieux  tige, 
certains  nouueaux  fruits  auparauant  incogneus  a  tous  nos  anciens 
Poetes :  Ce  f urent  Chants  Royaux,  Ballades,  &  Rondeaux.  Je  mets  en 
premier  lieu  le  Chant  Royal  comme  la  plus  digne  piece  de  ceste  nouuelle 
Poesie,  &  se  faisait,  ou  en  1'honneur  de  Dieu,  ou  de  la  Vierge  sa  mere, 
ou  sur  quelque  autre  grand  argument,  &  non  seulement  la  plus  digne, 
mais  aussi  la  plus  penible.  Et  parce  que  depuis  le  regne  de  Henry 
deuxieme  nous  avons  perdu  1'vsage  de  ces  trois  pieces,  ie  vous  en 
representeray  icy  le  formulaire.  Au  Chant  Royalle  fatiste  (ainsi 
nommerent-ils  le  Poete  d'vn  mot  Frangois  symbolizant  auecques  le 
Grec)  estoit  oblige  de  faire  cinq  onzaines  en  vers  de  dix  syllabes,  que 
nous  appellons  heroiques,  &  sur  le  modele  de  ce  premier,  falloit  que 

posed  had  to  be  in  the  form  of  a  quatrain,  huitain,  or  dixain.  Later,  when  the 
sonnet  had  become  popular  in  France,  it  was  adopted,  and  soon  became  the 
sole  form  used  in  the  Essay.  In  undergoing  this  trial,  the  poets  were  shut  up 
under  lock  and  key.  While  they  were  thus  engaged,  the  judges  and  other 
officials  partook  of  the  banquet,  which  was  a  part  of  the  annual  program. 
While  the  banquet  was  still  in  progress,  the  poets  were  released,  were  brought 
into  the  presence  of  the  judges  in  the  banqueting  hall,  and  there  read  the  verses 
which  they  had  just  composed.  The  Livre  Rouge  does  not  contain  any  speci- 
mens of  such  verses,  but  the  writer  has  been  able  to  secure  a  transcription  of 
one  contained  in  a  small  collection  of  poems  published  as  a  Triomphe  by 
Gregoire  de  Barutel,  winner  of  the  Eglantine  in  1651 : 

SONNET  DE  L'EssAY. 

FRANCE,  quoy  que  1'orgueil  d'vn  bany  te  menace, 
Sgaches  qu'il  n'est  plus  temps  de  reprendre  des  pleurs, 
Et  que  les  immortels  apres  tant  de  douleurs 
Vont  te  faire  jouyr  d'une  longue  bonace. 

Tes  plus  fiers  ennemis  ont  perdu  leur  audace, 
La  peur  les  a  fletris  de  ses  pasles  couleurs, 
Depuis  que  le  Ciel  sait  epanouir  les  Fleurs 
Que  le  malheur  fermoit  dans  le  Haure  de  Grace. 

Ces  Illustres  Captifs  que  la  rigueur  du  fort 
Auoit  presque  reduits  a  deux  doigts  de  la  mort, 
Ont  este  iustement  deliurez  d'esclavage. 

Les  Parlemens  les  ont  rendus  aux  bons  Francois, 
Eun  chacun  d'eux  peut  crier  a  haute  voix 
Mes  ennemis  sur  may  n'auront  point  d'auantage. 


14  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

tous  les  autres  tombassent  en  la  mesme  ordonnance  qu'estoit  la  rime  du 
premier,  &  fussent  pareillement  accolez  mot  pour  mot  du  dernier  vers, 
qu'ils  appelloient  le  Refrain.  Et  en  fin  fermoient  leur  Chant  Royal  par 
cinq  vers,  qu'ils  nommoient  Renvoy,  gardans  la  mesme  reigle  qu'aux 
autres,  par  lesquels,  les  addressant  a  Vn  Prince,  ils  recapitulaoient  en 
bref  ce  qu'ils  auoient  amplement  discouru  dedans  le  corps  de  leur 
Poeme."19 

Noulet,  in  the  introduction  of  his  edition  of  the  "  Joy  as  del  gay 
saber/'20  says,  in  speaking  of  the  earlier  history  of  the  Floral  Games : 

"  It  was  necessary  to  remain  true  to  the  Catholic  faith  and  to  com- 
pose in  pure  roman  (the  ancient  langue  d'oc  or  Provengal).  Then,  the 
poets  were  to  have  in  view  only  the  quest  of  the  beau  and  the  honnete, 
and,  in  order  to  arrive  at  this  result,  to  treat  only  religious  subjects,  or 
at  least  those  bearing  the  imprint  of  a  high  moral  character.21  All  that 

19  The  chant  royal,  in  its  definitive  form,  had  five  stanzas  and  an  envoi. 
Each  stanza  was  composed  of  eleven  lines,  and  the  rhyme  scheme  of  each  was 
the  same.    The  envoi  of  five  lines  repeated  the  rhyme  scheme  of  the  last  five 
lines  of  the  stanzas.    The  refrain  was  the  last  line  of  the  first  stanza  repeated 
as  the  last  line  of  each  succeeding  stanza,  and  as  the  last  line  of  the  envoi. 
In  the  poetry  of  the  Floral  Games,  the  lines  were  of  ten  syllables  until  the 
Alexandrine  came  into  use,  when  the  line  of  twelve  syllables  was  substituted 
for  that  of  ten.    Also,  in  the  Floral  Games  the  envoi  came  to  be  known  as  the 
allegorie,  an  innovation  of   the  poets   of   Toulouse.    Because  of  the  religious 
traditions  connected  with  it,  the  chant  royal  stuck  more  closely  to  the  original 
intention  of  the  genre  in  the  poetry  of  the  Floral  Games  than  elsewhere.    This 
species  of  poem  continued  to  be  cultivated  by  the  aspirants  to  honors  until  the 
College  was  transformed  into  an  Academy  in  1694.    Among  the  statutes  enacted 
for  governing  the  Floral  Games  at  the  time  of  the  transformation,  is  to  be 
found  the  following  statement :  "  The  poems  for  which  in  earlier  times  prizes 
were  given,  being  out'  of  use,  and  the  chant  royal,  which  succeeded  them,  having 
been  abandoned  in  recent  years  as  a  poetry  too  restrictive.  .  .  ."    The  chant 
royal  was  cultivated  by  several  of  the  great  poets  of  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries,  passing  out  of  vogue  with  La  Fontaine.    It  was  revived  in 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  has  been  cultivated  by  several  of  the  modern  Eng- 
lish poets,  of  whom  one  of  the  earliest  was  Edmond  Gosse, 

A  useful  study  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  chant  royal  is  contained  in 
Appendix  III  of  Cohen's  The  Ballade,  Columbia  University  Press,  1915. 

20  French  =  Joies  du  gai  savoir. 

21  Les  troubadours  de  la  decadence  partagaient  leur  talent  entre  la  poe"sie 
profane  et  la  poesie  religieuse.     L'ecole  toulousaine  alia  plus  loin;  elle  n'admet 
plus  que  cette  derniere.      L'amour  de  Dieu  et  surtout  de  la  Vierge  furent  a 
peu   pres   les   seuls   sentiments   qu'il   fut   permis   d'exprimer. — Joseph   Anglade, 
Las  Leys  a" Amors,  Toulouse,  1920,  tome  4,  p.  47. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  15 

appertained  to  profane  love,  and  even  that  ideal  love,  cult  of  the  knights 
and  troubadours  of  the  past,  was  severely  interdicted,  or  rather  the 
expression  of  this  last  sentiment  was  bestowed  upon  a  single  object, 
the  Virgin  Mary." 

The  poets  of  the  College  of  Rhetoric  were  compelled  to  follow 
in  the  traditions  of  their  predecessors  of  the  Gay  Science.  From 
time  to  time  the  restrictions  were  renewed,  as  is  intimated  to  us  by 
numerous  entries  in  the  Litre  Rouge,  As  late  as  1573  the  Livre 
Rouge  contains  an  entry  enjoining  on  the  poets  to  present  poems  in 
praise  of  God,  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  the  saints :  "  let  the  works  they 
shall  desire  to  recite  and  pronounce,  be  composed  in  honor  and 
praise  of  God,  of  the  holy  and  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  mother  of  God, 
saints  (saincts  et  sainctes)  of  paradise,  and  of  Lady  Clemence 
Ysaure  of  good  memory."22 

Toulouse  had  been  the  center  of  the  Albigensian  heresy,  and 
after  this  had  been  wiped  out  through  the  conquest  of  the  south  by 
the  king  of  France  and  the  pope,  the  latter  had  determined  to  make 
Toulouse  a  stronghold  of  the  Catholic  faith.  As  a  part  of  the  plan 
to  accomplish  this,  the  university  was  founded  and  the  Inquisition 

22  The  Livre  Rouge  affords  a  good  study  of  the  evolution  of  the  legend  of 
Clemence  Isaure,  as  the  restorer  of  the  Floral  Games.  This  legend  had  its 
birth  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  or  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  just  at 
the  moment  of  the  transformation  of  the  Gay  Science  into  the  College  of 
Rhetoric  The  controversy  as  to  her  real  or  imaginary  existence  lasted  for  sev- 
eral centuries,  but  scholars  of  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries  have 
demonstrated  conclusively  that  no  such  character  ever  existed.  The  oraison 
of  Clemence  Isaure  is  still  pronounced  at  each  annual  meeting  of  the  Floral 
Games,  but  the  legendary  patroness  has  become  nothing  more  than  a  shadowy 
ideal  of  poetry.  Beginning  with  the  Latin  poem  in  her  honor  read  in  the  con- 
test of  1534  by  fitienne  Dolet  (at  the  time  a  student  in  the  faculty  of  law  at 
Toulouse),  Dame  Clemence  became  the  inspiration  of  many  of  the  young  poets 
for  several  centuries.  In  the  eighteenth  century  Florian  made  her  the  subject 
of  his  celebrated  romance,  Estelle  (set  to  music  by  Cherubini).  For  interest- 
ing studies  on  Clemence  Isaure  see:  Roschach,  Variations  du  roman  de  Cle- 
mence Isaure,  and  Les  Avatars  de  Clemence  Isaure,  in  the  Memoires  de  fA- 
cademie  des  Sciences  of  Toulouse;  also  Francois  de  Gelis'  splendid  and  com- 
plete treatment,  La  Legende  de  Clemence  Isaure,  in  his  Histoire  critique  des 
Jeux  Floraux,  Toulouse,  1912.  Among  earlier  writers  on  the  subject  see  Catel, 
Lafaille,  Ponsan,  Dom  Vaysette,  Lagane,  Dumege.  The  last  was  an  ardent 
believer  in  the  existence  of  Clemence  Isaure.  His  views  may  be  seen  from 
articles  in  his  Biographic  Toulousaine,  Michaud,  1823 ;  and  in  his  Histoire  des 
Institutions  de  Toulouse. 


16  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

was  instituted.28  By  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  Tou- 
louse had  been  converted  into  an  orthodox  Catholic  city,  and  it  was 
under  the  influence  of  this  reactionary  religious  impulse  that  the 
Floral  Games  had  been  established. 

The  most  striking  feature  of  the  old  Troubadour  poetry  was  its 
treatment  of  the  theme  of  love.  The  Troubadour  conception  of  love 
was  the  outcome  of  the  theory  of  knighthood  or  chivalry  under  the 
influence  of  mariolatry.  In  the  eleventh  century  the  worship  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  became  widely  popular ;  the  reverence  bestowed  upon 
the  Virgin  was  extended  to  womanhood  in  general,  and  as  a  vassal 
owed  obedience  to  his  feudal  overlord,  so  did  he  owe  service  and 
devotion  to  his  lady.24  While  the  poetry  of  the  Troubadours 
doubtless  had  its  rise  under  religious  influences,  it  was  not  a  religious 
poetry.  Not  until  towards  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century  did 
distinctly  religious  poetry  begin  to  be  cultivated  in  the  south  of 
France.  Guiraut  Riquier,  known  as  "  the  last  Troubadour,"25  who 
died  in  the  last  decade  of  the  thirteenth  century,  wrote  distinctly 
religious  verse.  The  founders  of  the  Floral  Games  followed  his 
example  in  writing  on  religious  subjects,  and  so  strong  was  the 
religious  reaction  of  the  times  that  the  poets  of  the  new  school  were 
in  full  revolt  against  the  profane  themes  of  the  earlier  Troubadours. 
By  1356,  the  year  in  which  the  Leys  d" Amors  appeared,  the  tradition 
had  become  fixed,  and  the  Leys  d' Amors,  written  as  a  grammar, 
rhetoric  and  poetic  art,  for  the  guidance  of  the  Fins  Amants  (as  the 
contestants  were  called)28  laid  down  the  rule  that  the  poems  pre- 
sented for  prizes  should  be  of  a  distinctly  religious  import,  in  praise 
of  God,  the  Virgin  and  the  saints,  or  at  least  of  a  lofty  moral  nature. 
This  last  clause  was  a  distinct  hit  at  the  old  Troubadour  poetry, 
which  to  the  men  of  the  fourteenth  century  seemed  trivial  with  its 
endless  variations  of  profane  love. 

28  The  Inquisition  was  not  fully  abolished  at  Toulouse  until  1772.  Its  influ- 
ence on  the  founders  of  the  Gay  Science  may  be  seen  by  the  following  paragraph 
from  the  Leys  d' Amors  (edit.  Anglade,  t.  II,  p.  23). 

"Errors  es  lo  majors  vicis  de  totz,  quar  es  contra  la  fe  catholica;  per  que 
horn  ne  deu  recebre  ni  dar  joya  per  dictat  que  parle  de  la  santa  theologia,  en  cas 
doptos,  si  donx  la  sentensa  no  era  cl'ara  e  manifesta,  o  aproada  per  I'Enqueridor." 

24  Chaytor :  The  Troubadours,  p.  15. 

26  See  the  admirable  book  of  Professor  Joseph  Anglade,  of  the  University 
of  Toulouse:  Le  Troubadour  Guiraut  Riquier,  Paris,  1905. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  17 

Du  Bellay,  in  his  Defence  et  Illustration  de  la  langue  fran- 
foise  (1549),  counsels  the  young  poets  to  leave  such  trifles  as  the 
ballade  and  chant  royal  to  the  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  and  the  Puy 
of  Rouen.  That  the  poets  of  the  Floral  Games,  in  spite  of  the 
glorious  efflorescence  of  classical  forms  of  lyric  poetry  in  the  north 
during  the  sixteenth  century,  continued  to  cultivate  exclusively  the 
chant  royal  until  at  least  1641, 27  and  for  the  most  part  if  not  ex- 
clusively until  i69428  seems  less  strange  when  we  consider  the 
historical  background.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  tradition 
of  the  Floral  Games  was  more  religious  than  poetic.  Founded  in 
the  orthodox  Catholic  faith,  the  society  maintained  its  religious  tradi- 
tions throughout  the  sixteenth  century  in  spite  of  the  bitter  struggles 
of  the  period  of  the  Reformation.  That  the  religious  revolution 
was  felt  within  the  society  is  proven  by  many  entries  in  the  Livre 
Rouge.29 

26  Provengal :  Fis  Aytnans,  Fin  Ayman. 

27  The  year  in  which  the  records  of  the  Livre  Rouge  end. 

28  The  year  in  which  the  College  of  Rhetoric  became  the  Academy  of  the 
Floral  Games. 

29  An  entry  in  the  Livre  Rouge  for  the  year*  1563  reads  as  follows:  "A 
este  remonstre  par  led.  seigneur  Coignard,  la  calamite  du  temps  que  se  pre- 
sentoit,  tant  de  mort  cruelle  et  hostille  que  de  peste  et  famyne,  et  mesmes  que 
aux  envyrons  ou  bien  pres  de  lad.  ville  y  avoit  plusieurs  assemblies  ou  moien 
de  quoy  se  faisoient  plusieurs  incursions  hostilles,  que  debvoit  esmouvoir  les 
assistans,  faire  cesser  toutes  assemblies  et  lettures  publiques." 

An  entry  of  1564  reads:  "  Semblablement  est  inhibe  a  toute  qualite  de  gens 
de  porter  arnoiz  a  ladicte  assemblee,  centre  les  edicts  du  Roy,  ne  faire  tumultes, 
noise,  ne  insolances,  a  peyne  de  prison  et  autre  exemplaire." 

In  1568  "  feust  diet  et  remonstre  publiquement  que  attendu  la  calamite  du 
temps,  advenue  pour  raison  des  troubles  qui  sont  en  France,  et  mesmes  en 
environs  de  ceste  ville,  au  moien  desquelz  et  que  1'assemblee  qui  communement 
se  faict  de  toute  qualite  de  gens  les  premier  et  tiers  jours  de  May  ordonnes, 
pour  ouyr  prononcer  les  pohesmes  et  faire  le  jugement  des  fleurs,  suivant 
1'institution  de  dame  Clemence  et  coustume  antienne,  se  pourroit  en  suivre 
quelque  escandalle,  par  quoy  avant  faire  la  semonce  acoustumee  faicte,  sem- 
blable  jour,  seroit  expedient  de  traiter  coment  conviendra  en  user  pour  ceder 
au  temps." 

1569:  ".  .  .  mais  aussi  sur  1'election  du  chancellier  vichancellier  et  autres 
maincteneurs  en  lad.  science,  absans,  fugitifs,  mortz  ou  autrement  condamnes." 

An  entry  of  1571  has  to  do  with  Jean  de  Coras,  who  was  the  next  year  one 
of  the  victims  of  the  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew :  "  Ledict  sieur  Durant, 
mainct'eneur,  a  remonstre  par  messieurs  les  maincteneurs,  cappitoulz  bayks  et 
M"  [for  maitres],  avoyr  este  esleu  a  1'estat  de  maincteneur  vaquant  par 


1 8  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

When  the  transition  was  made  from  the  langue  d'oc  to  the 
French,  it  was  but  natural  that  French  forms  should  be  adopted 
along  with  the  language.  The  ballade  and  the  chant  royal  were  the 
two,  and  especially  the  latter,  which  best  accorded  with  the 
traditions  of  the  Gay  Science.  For  this  reason,  the  chant  royal 
became  eventually  the  sole  form  in  which  the  winning  poems  were 
composed.  But  if  the  poets  were  compelled  to  conform  to  conven- 
tions in  order  to  win  the  prizes,  they  were  free  to  read  poems  before 
the  judges  constructed  in  any  form  and  written  in  Latin,  French,  or 
in  the  native  language.  In  1534,  fitienne  Dolet  presented  ten  poems 
written  in  Latin  and  of  various  genres.  At  early  as  May,  1551  a 
poet  from  Beam,  Bernard  de  Poey,  at  the  time  a  student  in  the  uni- 
versity, in  all  probability  read  odes  in  the  presence  of  the  judges.  In 
I554»  a  sonnet  was  included  along  with  a  winning  chant  royal  in  the 
records  of  the  Livre  Rouge.  And,  as  above  stated,  the  poets  con- 
tinued to  read  poems  in  the  langue  d'oc  throughout  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  precise  moment  of  the  transition  from  the  Consistory  of 
Gay  Science  to  the  College  of  the  Art  and  Science  of  Rhetoric  is 
unknown;  but  the  change  took  place  between  1498  and  the  opening 
records  of  the  Livre  Rouge.  As  has  already  been  said,  the  entries 
in  the  Livre  Rouge  begin  with  the  year  1513,  and  that  has  been 
accepted  as  the  date  of  the  reorganization  of  the  society.  It  is 

1'absence  de  monsieur  Me  Jehan  de  Corras  et  parceque  led.  de  Corras,  conseiller 
en  la  court,  au  moyen  de  1'edict  de  pacification  est  remis  en  ses  honneurs  et 
(lignites,  declaire  n'entendre  1'empescher  aud.  lieu  de  maincteneur  ne  aulcune- 
ment  contrevenir  a  1'edict  de  pacification  et  pour  le  reguard  de  la  requisition 
faicte  par  led.  scindic,  il  n'y  peult  oppiner."  The  record  for  1572,  on  the  very 
eve  of  the  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew,  has  an  intensely  interesting  entry 
with  regard  to  Coras.  Coras,  who  was  a  Protestant,  refused  to  join  the 
mainteneurs  and  capitouls  in  celebrating  the  mass,  which,  as  usual,  preceded  the 
sittings  of  the  officials  of  the  Floral  Games,  but  joined  them  afterwards.  The 
record  reads:  ".  .  .  led.  de  Coras  absent  et  retire,  entrarent  apres  lad.  messe 
dicte  dans  le  grand  concistoire  de  lad.  maison  de  ville,  assistes  aussi  dud.  de 
Coras.  .  .  ."  The  record  of  1573  speaks  casually  of  the  "  decease "  of  Coras : 
"  Et  que  a  present  seroit  advenu  que  ledict  de  Coras,  en  absence  duquel  il  auroit 
este  esleu  maincteneur  en  lad.  annee  mil  Vc  LXIX,  seroit  decede,  a  supplie  la 
compagnie  vouloir  faire  adviser.  .  .  ."  Jean  de  Coras  was  a  brilliant  humanist 
and  occupied  chairs  of  civil  law  in  various  universities  of  Italy  and  France. 
After  the  middle  of  the  century  he  forsook  the  scholastic  robe  for  the  red  robe 
of  the  parlement. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  19 

unfortunate  that  a  Frederic  Mistral  could  not  have  appeared  at  the 
opening  of  the  sixteenth  century.  If  a  strong,  virile,  patriotic  writer 
had  appeared  at  that  time,  the  language  and  literature  of  the  south 
might  have  been  revived,  and  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Floral 
Games  would  surely  have  been  different.  At  any  rate,  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  reorganization  was  not  deferred  until  a  half  cen- 
tury later,  when  the  Renaissance  influences  in  France  were  in  full 
swing.  A  reorganization  at  this  later  time  would  have  had  very 
vital  consequences,  and  the  influence  of  the  Floral  Games  on  the 
history  of  French  literature  would  certainly  have  been  far-reaching 
and  noteworthy. 

The  reorganization  of  the  Floral  Games  came  just  at  the  moment 
when  the  influence  of  the  decadent  Rhetoricians  of  the  north  had 
become  widespread,  infesting  France  like  the  plague.30  The  decay 
of  the  earlier  epic  literature  of  north  France  had  paralleled  that  of 
the  lyric  Provencal  literature  of  the  south ;  and  whereas  the  ancient 
Troubadours  had  been  succeeded  by  the  Fins  Amants  of  the  Con- 
sistory of  Gay  Science  at  Toulouse,  the  Trouveres  of  the  north  had 
found  their  successors  in  the  poetic  school  of  the  Rhetoricians,  and 
for  two  centuries  poetry  came  to  be  known  as  Rhetoric.31  The  rules 
for  the  composition  of  poetry  were  multiplied,  and  numerous 
treatises  for  the  guidance  of  aspiring  poets  were  published,  bearing 
frequently  grandiose  and  fantastic  titles,  which  are  of  themselves 
suggestive  of  the  conception  that  men  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  had  of  poetry.  The  names  of  some  of  these  treatises  on 
poetic  art  are  illuminating.  Between  the  Art  de  Dictier  of  Eustache 
Deschamps  in  1392  and  the  Art  poetique  of  Thomas  Sibilet  in  1548, 
there  is  a  long  line  of  such  manuals.  The  titles  of  a  few  of  them 
are  sufficient  for  illustration  :32  Les  regies  de  la  Seconde  Rhetorique 
(1411-1432),  Le  Doctrinal  de  la  Seconde  Rhetorique  (1432), 
Traite  de  I' Art  de  Rhetorique  (between  1433  and  1466),  Jean 
Molinet's  Art  et  Science  de  Rhetorique  (1493),  Le  Jardin  de 
plaisance  et  fleur  de  rhetorique  (1499);  Pierre  Fabri's  Grant  et 

80  Lanson,  Histoire  de  la  litterature  franfaise,  p.  182. 

81  Prose  was  called  the  art  of  First  Rhetoric ;  and  Poetry  was  known  as 
the  art  of  Second  Rhetoric, 

32  See  Petit  de  Julleville,  Histoire  de  la  Litterature  franfaise,  for  more  com- 
plete information.  Also  Cohen's  The  Ballade,  Columbia  University  Press,  1915. 


2O  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Vraie  Art  de  Pleine  Rhetonque  (1521),  Gracien  du  Font's  Art  et 
Science  de  Rhetonque  metrifiee  (1539  at  Toulouse). 

What  is  now  generally  known  as  the  school  of  the  Rhetoricians 
(Grands  Rhetoriqueurs)  was  not  a  conscious  and  definite  movement 
in  literature,  as  for  instance  at  later  periods  that  of  the  Pleiade  and 
that  of  the  Romanticists,  but  was  a  gradual  outgrowth  correspond- 
ing to  the  decay  of  feudalism  and  the  rise  of  the  middle  class  which 
paralleled  the  literary  changes  in  the  south.  In  reviewing  the  litera- 
ture of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  it  has  been  seen  that 
the  earliest  tendencies  toward  regarding  literature  as  Rhetoric  are 
to  be  found  in  Guillaume  de  Machault  in  the  earlier  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, of  whom  Lanson  says :  "  to  him  the  honor  of  having  revealed 
the  secret  of  serpentine,  equivocal,  leonine,  alternate  or  retrograde, 
sonant  or  consonant,  rhymes."  Although  a  mere  name  to-day, 
Machault  was  in  the  eyes  of  his  own  age  a  great  poet.  He  was  imi- 
tated by  the  English  writers,  among  others  Chaucer,  and  gave  to 
English  literature  the  heroic  couplet.  The  most  striking  evidence  of 
his  popularity  is  the  effect  that  he  had  on  poetry.  He  was  a  musician 
in  an  age  when  music  was  much  cultivated.  "  By  devoting  par- 
ticular attention  to  the  union  of  verse  and  music  and  the  composi- 
tion of  songs  he  became  largely  responsible  for  the  vogue  of  com- 
plicated metres  in  which  poets  began  to  delight,  metres  which  be- 
came daily  more  involved  until  they  culminated  in  the  verbal  atroci- 
ties of  the  rhetoriquenrs  who  carry  into  belles-lettres  the  precedes 
of  the  schoolmen.  He,  himself,  for  instance,  took  chief  pride  in  the 
lai  which  was,  if  anything  more  complicated  than  the  other  metres. 
But  the  form  which  won  chief  favor  was  the  ballade,  as  marked  a 
feature  of  early  poetry  as  the  sonnet  was  of  the  later."33  Of  the 
influence  of  this  school  which  found  its  ancestor  in  Machault,  Lanson 
says  :34  "  There  will  be  no  further  change  in  things  until  the  Renais- 
sance. For  almost  two  centuries  the  same  genres  will  be  cultivated : 
above  all,  the  ballade  will  be  the  master  form  of  poetry,  cherished 
by  the  professional  poets  (Eustache  Deschamps  composes  them  in 
J374)>  practiced  by  amateurs  (the  Book  of  the  Hundred  Ballades 
is  the  collective  work  of  princes  and  lords  of  the  court  of  Charles 

"C.  H.  C.  Wright:  A  History  of  French  Literature,  p.  112.    Oxford  Uni- 
versity Press,  1912. 

**  Lanson :  Histoire  de  la  Litterature  fratifaise,  p.  144. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  21 

VI)  :  the  ballade  will  be  what  the  sonnet  was  in  the  decadence  of  the 
Renaissance  before  the  maturing  of  the  classic  genius.  .  .  .  The 
name  which  is  henceforth  to  be  used  of  poetry,  the  name  which 
depicts  marvellously  the  poetry  of  two  centuries,  from  Machault  and 
Deschamps  to  Cretin  and  Molinet,  which  the  fourteenth  century 
adopts  and  perpetuates,  that  name  is  Rhetoric." 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  appreciate  at  their  true  value  the 
Rhetoricians.  With  the  passing  of  feudal  and  chivalric  ideals,  there 
came  a  readjustment  and  reconstruction  of  society  over  the  whole 
of  France.  The  literary  product  of  feudal  society  ceased  to  have  a 
vital  meaning,  and,  like  the  social  order  under  whose  influence  it 
had  been  composed,  it  passed  away.  To  meet  the  needs  of  the 
renewed  society  which  gradually  evolved  between  the  thirteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  a  new  literature  had  formed,  one  which 
beyond  doubt  reflected  the  ideals  and  intellectual  aspirations  and 
needs  of  the  public  for  which  it  had  been  written.  In  the  old  society 
intellectual  ideals  had  been  lacking.  The  literature  which  had  been 
produced  under  its  inspiration,  while  marvellous  in  its  simplicity 
and  the  fidelity  with  which  it  depicted  the  spirit  and  manners  of  the 
age,  was  the  product  of  an  epoch  intellectually  uncultured.  With 
the  loosening  of  the  bonds  between  overlord  and  vassal,  with  the 
growth  of  commerce  and  the  rise  of  a  middle  class  of  importance, 
with  the  development  of  an  office-holding  class  in  the  employ  of  the 
king,  as  for  example  the  numerous  officials  of  the  seneschalty  and 
the  parlements,  with  the  growing  authority  of  the  church  over  the 
minds  of  men,  with  the  rise  and  development  of  the  mediaeval  uni- 
versities, there  had  gradually  come  to  be  formed  a  wider  range  of 
interests,  and  it  was  the  task  of  the  Rhetoricians  to  produce  a  litera- 
ture which  would  meet  the  needs  of  this  new  social  order  in  the 
making.  In  order  to  understand  just  how  well  they  performed  their 
work,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  a  complete  understanding  of 
the  intellectual  and  spiritual  forces  of  the  age  as  represented  by 
scholasticism.  The  literature  of  the  Rhetorical  school  went  hand  in 
hand  with  scholasticism,  and  both  became  outworn  and  were  cast 
aside.  With  the  difference,  however,  that  while  certain  phases  of 
scholastic  thought  continued  until  the  seventeenth  century,  Rhetoric 
suffered  a  complete  breakdown  early  in  the  sixteenth  century.  At 
no  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  perhaps,  has  the  literature  of  an 


22  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

age  collapsed  more  completely  and  spectacularly  than  did  that  of 
France  at  this  period.  The  sign  of  decadence  was  not  that  men 
ceased  to  write,  but  that  writers  greatly  multiplied,  and  the  quality 
of  the  product  diminished  in  proportion  to  the  increase.  Letters  lost 
their  vitality,  authors  became  mere  imitators,  and  imitators  of  the 
eccentricities  and  worst  features  of  their  models ;  so  that  for  more 
than  a  generation  a  veritable  host  of  writers  busied  themselves  with 
the  composition  of  works  that  are  now  regarded  as  the  most  absurd, 
ridiculous,  and  fantastic  ever  produced.  Critics  in  estimating  the 
worth  of  the  Rhetoricians  have  been  too  apt  to  judge  them  at  their 
worst,  and  their  condemnation  has  been  severe.  But  that  the 
Rhetoricians  hold  a  definite  place  of  importance  in  the  history  of 
French  letters,  there  can  be  little,  if  any,  doubt,  and  while  the  litera- 
ture of  France  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  may  not 
appeal  to  the  modern  world  as  much  as  that  which  preceded  or  fol- 
lowed it,  neither  do  those  centuries  appeal  to  us  to-day,  in  general, 
as  much  as  the  periods  of  chivalry  and  of  the  Renaissance.  Two 
services,  at  least,  were  performed  by  the  Rhetoricians  which  were 
to  be  of  capital  importance  to  the  succeeding  school  of  the  Pleiade. 
Under  their  influence  the  audience  for  literature  was  greatly  ex- 
tended. Literature  does  not  flourish  without  an  audience  any  more 
than  does  the  stage.  In  the  second  place,  they  kept  alive  and  stimu- 
lated interest  in  antiquity.  They  misunderstood  antiquity,  but  it 
attracted  them  nevertheless,  and  they  gave  voice  to  the  notions  that 
generally  prevailed  at  that  time  concerning  it.  When  Du  Bellay  and 
Ronsard  began  to  write,  they  found  an  audience  already  formed 
and  one  already  familiar  after  a  fashion  with  the  antiquity  which 
they  sought  to  revive  and  truthfully  imitate.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  work  of  the  Rhetoricians,  the  gulf  between  the  revived  antiquity 
of  the  Renaissance  and  the  people  of  France  would  have  been  much 
greater  than  it  was.  It  is  true  that  the  knowledge  which  the 
Rhetoricians  had  of  antiquity  was  practically  confined  to  Rome. 
Greece  was  scarcely  known  to  them.  But  the  Renaissance,  when  it 
came,  was  a  Latin  Renaissance,  and  not  until  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury did  it  become  a  widespread  movement  covering  both  Greece 
and  Rome.85 

*5  The   most   recent   work   on   the   development   of   French    Classicism   is 
Professor  C.  H.  C.  Wright's  French  Classicism,  Harvard  University  Press,  1921. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  23 

If  the  decadent  Rhetorical  poetasters  suffered  from  a  poverty  of 
thought,  and  if  they  debauched  poetic  art,  their  most  unpardonable 
sin  was  against  the  language.  Under  their  influence  French  verse 
became  at  times  utterly  unintelligible.  The  following  lines  are  good 
illustrations  of  their  writing  at  its  worst: 

In  1471  Jean  Molinet  addressed  a  letter  in  verse  to  one  of  his 
friends  which  is  a  queer  macaronic  mixture  of  French  and  Latin : 

.  .  .  Si  de  meo  statu  petis, 
Perdus  sommes  grans  et  petis: 
Habuimus  multa  bella 
Depuis  qu'Amiens  se  rebella  .  .  . 

fitienne  Pasquier,  in  his  Recherches,  notes  the  following : 

Iliades  curae  quae  mala  corde  serunt, 
which  may  be  read  in  French, 

II  y  a  des  cures  qui  mal  accordes  seront. 

The  fondness  for  alliteration  is  to  be  seen  in  the  following  lines 
from  Jean  Boucher: 

Frangoys  faitiz,  francz,  fors,  fermes  au  fait, 
Fins,  frais,  de  fer,  feroces,  sans  frayeur  .  .  . 

Verse  reached  the  stage  of  utter  unintelligibility  under  the  pen 
of  Andre  de  la  Vigne.  In  an  invective  against  Atropos  he  indulges 
in  the  following: 

Trie,  trac,  troc,  trop,  trousselant,  triquetroque, 
Trainc  tres  terreux,  trep  de  triquenoque, 
Traistre  trousson,  triquenique  tribraque, 
Truye  troussine,  triquedondayne  troque, 
Triste  truande,  triple  trouble  tibroque, 
Tresvil  trect  traict,  traffigue  tripliarque, 
Trace  trouvee,  tribullante  trymarque  .  .  .8a 

It  was  the  debauching  of  the  language  which  most  of  all  caused 

88  The  examples  given  are  taken  from  Henry  Guy's  Histoire  de  la  potsic 
fronfaist  au  xvie  siecle  (2  vols.),  vol.  i,  L'Gcole  des  Rhetoriqueurs.  Paris, 
Champion,  1910. 


24  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

the  Rhetoricians  to  fall  under  the  utter  condemnation  which  was 
heaped  upon  them  by  the  generation  of  the  Renaissance;  and  yet, 
the  Pleiade  themselves  were  not  able  to  steer  clear  of  excess  in 
language,  and  it  was  that  more  than  anything  else  which  caused  such 
a  violent  turning  from  them  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  rhetorical  tendencies  in  French  literature  reached  a  climax 
in  the  group  of  poets  gathered  around  Marguerite  of  Austria  in 
Flanders,  in  the  court  poets  of  Burgundy,  and  finally  at  the  court  of 
France  under  the  protection  of  Anne  of  Brittany.  At  the  dawn  of 
the  sixteenth  century  literature  was  still  under  the  complete  sway  of 
mediaeval  ideas.  "  The  self-centered  intellectual  life  of  the  fifteenth 
century  had  lacked  critical  taste  or  discernment.  Learning  was 
turgid  and  pedantic  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  all  of  the  tenden- 
cies were  towards  involution  and  complication."  This  was  the  age 
of  the  last  effete  descendants  of  a  long  line  of  poets,  the  grands 
rhetoriqueurs,  the  chief  of  whom  was  Jean  Molinet,  official  poet  of 
the  court  of  Burgundy.  The  poets  of  Burgundy  gave  the  tone  to 
the  rhymesters  of  the  other  feudal  courts.  "  Louis  XI,"  says  Lan- 
son,37  "  was  too  bourgeois,  too  sensible,  too  positive,  to  fall  in  line 
with  such  nonsense.  But  after  him,  .  .  .  The  young  Duchess  Anne 
.  .  .  attracted  from  all  corners  of  the  kingdom  all  the  grands, 
moyens,  petits  et  tout  petits  rhetoriqueurs.  They  infested  the  court 
of  Charles  VIII,  then  that  of  Louis  XII,  and  in  all  ranks,  and  from 
all  the  provinces,  they  sprang  up,  each  more  devoid  of  sense  and 
more  extravagant  in  form  than  the  other.  The  most  endurable  are 
those  who  have  the  least  genius :  their  platitude  condemns  them  to 
being  intelligible,  or  almost  so.  .  .  ." 

From  the  above,  it  will  be  clearly  seen  that  the  reorganization  of 
the  Gay  Science  into  the  College  of  Rhetoric  corresponded  precisely 
in  point  of  time  with  the  universal  popularity  of  the  decadent 
Rhetoricians.  Charles  VIII,  while  passing  out  of  a  dark  gallery  at 
the  castle  of  Amboise,  in  April,  1498,  struck  his  head  against  the 
top  of  a  doorway  so  violently  that  he  died  a  few  hours  afterwards. 
With  him  the  direct  line  of  Valois  kings  became  extinct.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Louis,  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  ascended  the  throne  as 
Louis  XII.  The  last  record  that  has  been  preserved  of  the  Con- 

»7  Lanson,  op.  cit.,  181-183. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  25 

sistory  of  Gay  Science  is  of  1498,  the  year  of  the  death  of 
Charles  VIII.  During  the  succeeding  reign,  the  College  of  Rhetoric 
came  into  existence.  Founded  under  a  strongly  orthodox  religious 
influence,  guided  by  the  rules  laid  down  in  the  Leys  a"  Amors,  skilled 
in  the  composition  of  intricate  rhymes  and  metrical  devices,  it  can 
be  easily  seen  that  the  cultivation  of  the  genres  in  vogue  among  the 
Rhetoricians  of  the  north  could  not  have  been  an  abrupt  transition. 
At  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  reputation  of  Jean  Molinet 
was  at  its  height.  In  1493  he  had  published  his  Art  et  Science  de 
Rhetorique.58  The  very  title  of  his  book  suggests  that  the  reorgan- 
ized society  had  derived  its  name  from  it.  That  it  did  derive  it  from 
Molinet's  book  is  all  the  more  probable  when  we  consider  that  the 
Fins  Amants  had  depended  since  1356  upon  the  work  of  Guilhem 
Molinier,  and  that  this  guide  to  the  composition  of  poetry  had  to  be 
of  necessity  discarded  when  the  change  was  made.  Perhaps,  in  con- 
sidering the  reorganization  of  the  Gay  Science,  the  mainteneurs  had 
adopted  Molinet's  book  as  the  new  guide  for  the  poets,  and  its  title 
for  the  new  name  of  the  society.  Then  the  name  Molinet.  Is  it  not 
suggestive  in  itself?  Molinet  and  Molinier,  if  not  identical  names 
with  variant  spelling  for  north  and  south  France,  respectively,  are 
at  least  enough  alike  to  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  main- 
teneurs, and  especially  so,  as  Molinet,  a  prominent  ecclesiastic,  was 
the  reigning  poet  of  the  northern  school.  So  it  is  in  all  probability 
the  Burgundian  school  of  poets  that  we  must  regard  as  the  direct 
inspiration  of  the  poets  of  Toulouse  after  the  decay  of  their  own 
poetry.  This  view  is  further  borne  out  by  examining  the  products 
of  the  poets  of  Toulouse  in  the  early  sixteenth  century.  Although 
it  is  not  until  1539  that  any  of  the  poems  of  the  College  of  the  Art 
and  Science  of  Rhetoric  are  transcribed  on  the  pages  of  the  Lvure 
Rouge,  information  is  not  entirely  lacking  as  to  the  character  of  the 
poems  composed  prior  to  that  date  for  the  annual  contests.  From 
the  meager  indications  afforded  by  the  Livre  Rouge,  we  know  that 
the  ballade  had  come  into  use  by  1513,  and  that  it  held  sway  until 
1540.  As  has  already  been  shown,  the  ballade  was  the  favorite 
form  of  the  poets  of  north  France.  While  it  is  true  that  no  poems 
bearing  the  name  ballade  have  come  down  from  the  period  of  the 

88  For  long  ascribed  to  Henri  de  Croy. 


26  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Gay  Science,  there  is  in  fact  one  poem  of  this  genre  which  has  been 
preserved  under  the  name  of  letra  d' amors,  for  which  a  poet  by  the 
name  of  Janilhac  was  awarded  a  prize  in  1471.  Janilhac  was  a 
Parisian  and  a  student  in  the  University  of  Toulouse.  His  poem 
was  written  in  the  native  langut  d'oc,  and  was  awarded  the  prize, 
not,  although  so  stated,  because  he  could  write  in  the  native  idiom, 
but  because  by  writing  in  it  he  conformed  to  one  of  the  established 
regulations  of  the  Gay  Science.  One  of  the  cardinal  rules  laid  down 
in  the  early  history  of  the  society  was  that  the  poets  should  compose 
in  the  language  native  to  Toulouse.  If  Janilhac  conformed  to  the 
rules  with  respect  to  language,  he  did  not  meet  the  requirements 
with  respect  to  form.  The  ballade  was  not  an  accepted  form  of  the 
Gay  Science,  but  the  prize  bestowed  was  a  special  one  known  as  the 
joya  extraordinaria,  and  the  contest  was  not  one  held  at  the  regular 
time  (1-3  of  May),  but  at  Pentecost.  Special  prizes  were  some- 
times awarded  in  response  to  a  citatio  or  summons  at  other  than  the 
regular  contests.  On  such  occasions  the  mainteneurs  sent  out  a 
letter  in  verse  beginning :  "  De  mandement  de  Messenhos  Chancelier 
he  Mantenidos  (By  order  of  the  chancellor  and  the  mainteneurs)"  in 
which  they  advertised  a  contest  at  a  given  date,  and  assigned  a 
refrain  upon  which  the  poets  should  compose  their  verses.  Such 
a  letter  was  sent  out  in  August,  1468,  inviting  "all  experts  in  the 
art  of  Rhetoric,  vulgarly  called  the  Gay  Saber," 

"  A  totz  spertz  en  Tart  de  Rectorica 
Ha  vulguarment  apelat  Saber  Guay," 

to  appear  the  next  Sunday  with  poems  constructed  to  the  refrain: 
*Al  cor  me  fier  la  Pera  del  enguoys  ("  the  choke-pear  strikes  me  to 
the  heart "),  for  which  the  winner  should  receive  a  branch  d' argent, 
presumably  a  silver  olive  branch.  Such  contests  were  held  in  various 
places,  and  not  confined  to  the  town  hall,  as  was  the  case  with  the 
regular  contests. 

The  above  quotation  is  the  earliest  reference  to  the  poetry  of 
the  Floral  Games  as  the  Art  of  Rhetoric,  "  vulgarly  called  the 
Saber  Guay"  From  this  reference  and  from  Janilhac's  ballade,  we 
know  the  precise  moment  at  which  the  influence  of  north  France 
began  to  invade  the  Consistory  of  Gay  Science.  The  transition, 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  27 

therefore,  from  the  Gay  Science  to  Rhetoric  was  a  gradual  one, 
covering  a  period  of  not  less  than  forty  or  fifty  years.  In  the 
absence  of  concrete  documents  it  is  impossible  to  assert  positively 
that  the  College  of  the  Art  and  Science  of  Rhetoric  replaced  Guilhem 
Molinier  and  his  Leys  d' Amors  by  Jean  Molinet  and  his  Art  et 
Science  de  Rhetorique,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  reorganized 
society  was  very  strongly  under  the  influence  of  the  reigning  school 
of  poetry  of  north  France.  When  once  the  influence  of  the  Rhetori- 
cians had  entered,  it  was  felt  until  the  society  was  again  reorganized 
in  1694  as  the  Academy  of  the  Floral  Games.  The  influence  of  the 
Rhetoricians  may  be  divided  into  three  periods :  that  of  the  ballade, 
that  of  the  chant  royal,  modified  gradually  by  the  general  ideas  of 
the  Renaissance  and  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  Pleiade;  and  lastly, 
the  period  when  the  chant  royal  undergoes  very  strongly  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Pleiade,  both  in  its  content  and  in  its  language.  The 
first  of  these  extends  from  1513  to  1540;  the  second  from  1540 
until  the  end  of  the  century;  and  the  third  from  that  time  until 
1694.  This  division  is  made  on  the  basis  of  the  poems  recorded  in 
the  Livre  Rouge  for  which  prizes  were  awarded.  From  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century  the  poets  were  strongly  swayed  by  the  gen- 
eral ideas  of  the  Renaissance  and  while  the  influence  of  the  Pleiade 
was  comparatively  small  before  the  close  of  the  century,  it  was 
immediately  felt  by  the  poets  at  Toulouse.  As  has  been  previously 
stated,  it  is  almost  certain  that  Bernard  de  Poey  read  odes  at  the 
meeting  of  1551.  In  this  same  year,  not  only  he,  but  Pierre  du 
Cedre  as  well,  composed  sonnets,  and  in  1554  a  sonnet  was  inserted 
in  the  Livre  Rouge  along  with  a  winning  chant  royal.  In  1555, 
Pierre  de  Ronsard  was  awarded  an  honorary  prize  by  the  main- 
teneurs.  That  the  influence  of  the  Pleiade  on  the  poems  for  which 
prizes  were  awarded  was  not  at  once  felt,  was  due  to  the  conven- 
tional restrictions  placed  upon  the  competing  poets. 

The  chief  representatives  of  the  period  before  1540  were  Blaise 
d'Auriol  and  Gracien  du  Pont.39  Each  of  them  occupied  a  promi- 
nent place  at  Toulouse  in  an  official  capacity  and  as  writers.  The 
former  became  chancellor  of  the  university  and  was  the  author  of 
a  work  which  enjoyed  a  wide  popularity,  known  as  La  Chasse  et 

89  See  part  iii  for  fuller  account  of  both. 


28  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

le  depart  d' amour,  in  part  a  plagiarism  of  Charles  d'Orleans  and 
partly  his  own  composition.  He  was  the  first  native  of  Toulouse  to 
compose  poetry  in  French.  He  was  a  wretched  poet,  but  no  worse 
than  a  horde  of  Rhetorician  poets  of  north  France  who  were  his 
contemporaries.  The  Livre  Rouge  shows  that  he  was  a  maitre 
(master)  of  the  Floral  Games  in  1513,  after  having  won  all  three 
of  the  prizes.  He  was  a  mainteneur  from  about  1522  until  1540. 
Gracien  du  Pont  was  the  lieutenant  of  the  seneschalty  at  Toulouse 
and  mainteneur  of  the  Floral  Games  from  153-  to  1545.  He  was 
the  author  of  a  work  called  Les  Controverses  des  sexes  Masculin  et 
Femenin,  in  which  he  dealt  disparagingly  with  women.  Such  works 
had  been  common  among  the  Rhetoricians  of  north  France  since  the 
days  of  Jean  de  Meung.  He  was  also  the  author  of  an  Art  and 
Science  of  Rhetoric  (Art  et  Science  de  Rhetorique  metrifiee),  in 
which  "  he  explained  every  conceivable  form  of  rhythmical  puer- 
ility."40 This  work,  published  at  Toulouse  in  1539,  was1  based  upon 
the  book  of  Pierre  Fabri,41  published  at  Rouen  in  1522,  which  in  its 
turn  was  composed  entirely  in  accord  with  the  practice  of  the 
Rhetoricians.42 

THE  POETRY  OF  THE  LIVRE  ROUGE. 

While  winning  poems  were  not  transcribed  in  the  Livre  Rouge 
before  1539,  there  is  sufficient  information  in  the  records  to  enable 
us  to  determine  the  nature  of  them.  In  1513,  Hugues  Roguier  won 
the  GaucH  (Souci)  or  Marigold  for  a  ballade  in  the  langue  d'oc. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  last  time  that  a  prize  was  awarded  for  a 
poem  in  the  native  language.43  The  Violet  was  awarded  to  a  stu- 

40  Tilley :  The  Literature  of  the  French  Renaissance,  vol.  i,  p.  69.    See  also, 
Cohen:  The  Ballade,  Columbia  University  Press,  New  York,  1915. 

41  For  the  influence  of  Guilhem  Molinier's  Leys  d' Amors  on  the  book  of 
Gracien  du  Pont,  see  Joseph  Anglade's  edition  of  the  Leys  d'Amors,  tome  4, 
p.  119.    Toulouse,  1920. 

42  The  title  of  Fabri's  book  is :  Le  grand  et  vray  art  de  pleine  Rhetorique. 
It  was  reprinted  at  Rouen  in  two  vols.  in  1889-1890,  with  notes  by  A.  Heron, 
for  the  Societe  des  bibliophiles  normands.    It  was  composed,  no  doubt,  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  Puy  of  Rouen.    Since  Gracien  du  Font's  book  at  Toulouse 
was  based  mainly  on  this  work,  and  no  doubt  had  some  influence  on  the  southern 
poets,  there  is  probably  found  here  a  connecting  link  between  the  two  societies. 

48  While  no  poems  composed  in  the  language  of  the  South  were  awarded 
prizes  during  the  period  covered  by  the  Livre  Rouge  (1513-1641),  it  was  not 


:    I    Hie    t  »mx  a.ttvv<xf,»wx  rumen  ct  <KVX 


*^KU-U  «^ 

^?'"  f 


Facsimile  of  folio  252  r°of  the  Livre  Rouge  (Vol.  I.);  date  1570.     Bibliotheque  des  Jeux 

Floraux  de  Toulouse. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  29 

dent,  Jacques  Sapientis,  for  a  ballade  unisonant  et  entrelassee,  upon 
the  blason  of  the  counts  of  Toulouse.  From  1514  to  1518,  the 
records  are  wanting.  In  1519,  Jean  de  Villeneuve  was  awarded 
the  Marigold  for  an  oraison  de  Notre  Dame  in  the  form  of  a  ballade. 
Jehan  de  Vignes,  a  priest,  won  the  Eglantine  for  a  ballade  unisonante 
in  praise  of  Saint  Sebastian ;  and  the  Violet  was  won  by  Jehan  Perot 
student,  for  a  ballade  on  the  university  of  Toulouse.  The  refrain 
of  his  poem, 

"  Le  dieu  Phoebus  est  venu  d'Ylion," 

shows  a  fondness  for  parading  classical  names,  one  of  the  marked 
characteristics  of  the  Rhetoricians.  The  next  record  (1535)  is 
taken  up  with  a  quarrel  between  the  mainteneurs  and  the  capitouls44 
over  the  election  of  a  chancellor,  and  no  mention  is  made  of  the  con- 
test. The  next  is  that  of  1539,  the  time  when  the  winning  poems 
began  to  be  inscribed  in  the  Livre  Rouge.  Of  the  two  poems  re- 
corded, one  is  a  chant  royal  by  Pierre  Trassabot,  a  native  of  Tou- 
louse who  acquired  considerable  reputation  as  a  musician,  painter 
and  sculptor.  This  is  the  first  chant  royal  of  which  there  is  any 
record,  and  may  have  been  the  first  for  which  a  prize  was  awarded 
in  the  Floral  Games.  The  theme,  that  life  is  a  constant  struggle,  is 
commonplace,  and  the  refrain  reflects  the  Rhetoricians'  liking  for 
sententious  or  proverbial  sayings:45 

"Que  vye  humaine  a  icy  tous jours  guerre." 

The  poet  injects  into  his  composition  a  certain  imagery  and  portrays 
faithfully  enough  the  life  of  the  soldier  of  his  day  as  well  as  the 
longing  for  peace  and  the  hopes  aroused  over  the  prospect  of  it ;  the 
disillusionment  that  comes  as  other  ills  spring  up  to  take  the  place 
of  war ;  the  cold,  the  heat,  the  storms,  and  all  the  things  that  beset 
man  on  his  journey  through  this  world. 

long  after  this  period  that  Gregoire  de  Barutel  in  1651  won  the  Eglantine  for  a 
chant  royal  composed  in  the  Gascon  dialect  (see  p.  12).  This  was  no  doubt 
an  exceptional  case.  The  practice  of  awarding  prizes  for  poems  in  Provencal 
was  revived  only  in  the  later  nineteenth  century,  and  at  present  they  have  their 
regular  place  in  the  annual  competition  for  prizes. 

44  The  capitouls,  or  city  fathers,  participated  in  the  Floral  Games  as  repre- 
sentatives of  the  city,  which  furnished  the  funds  to  pay  for  the  annual  prizes. 

45  "  La   fagon  dont  les  rhetoriqueurs  concevaient  la  morale  les  conduisait 
necessairement  a  1'exprimer  en  proverbes.  .  .  ." — Henry  Guy:  op.  cit.,  p.  68. 


3O  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

The  ballade  for  which  Hector  du  Pertuiz  won  the  Violet  shows 
the  influence  of  the  Roman  de  la  Rose  in  its  personification  of 
Melancholy,  War,  Death,  etc. 

"  Fuyez  chagrin,  chassez  melancolye," 

says  the  poet,  as  he  proceeds  with  a  banal  paean  of  praise  in  honor 
of  his  sovereign,  whom  it  would  be  impossible  to  recognize  if  we 
did  not  know  that  Francis  I  was  reigning  at  the  time. 

With  1540,  begins  the  sway  of  the  chant  royal.  In  that  year 
all  of  the  winning  poems  were  of  this  genre,  and,  as  has  already  been 
stated,  with  few  exceptions  the  chant  royal  will  hold  undisputed 
sway  in  the  Floral  Games  until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Throughout  the  sixteenth  century,  the  content  and  spirit  of  the  win- 
ning poems  will  be  determined  by  the  models  of  the  Rhetoricians. 
Not  that  no  influence  will  be  exerted  by  the  new  spirit  of  the  Renais- 
sance as  represented  by  the  Pleiade,  but  that  this  influence  is  com- 
paratively limited  before  the  seventeenth  century.  In  the  seven- 
teenth century,  Pleiade  influences  will  alter  profoundly  the  content 
and  spirit  of  many  of  the  winning  poems,  but  the  form  remains  and 
the  general  conception  of  the  chant  royal  lingers.  In  the  sixteenth 
century  it  is  the  general  ideas  of  the  Renaissance,  especially  philoso- 
phy and  science  that  attract  the  young  poets,  and  their  influence 
overshadows  that  of  the  Pleiade.  Aside  from  the  thought,  the  great- 
est innovations  of  the  sixteenth  century  are,  perhaps,  the  change 
from  the  verse  of  ten  syllables  to  the  alexandrin  (in  1556),  and  the 
introduction  of  certain  words  and  turns  of  expression  characteristic 
of  the  Pleiade.  In  their  language  the  poets  of  the  Floral  Games  are 
not  imitators  of  the  effete  Rhetoricians.  French  is  a  foreign  lan- 
guage to  many  of  them,  and  their  works  display  the  crudeness  that 
accompanies  the  effort  to  write  in  a  foreign  tongue,  but  they  have  a 
respect  for  the  language  that  was  not  possessed  by  the  later  Rhetori- 
cians. Their  attempts  to  express  in  French  abstract  and  philosophical 
ideas  which  they  have  but  poorly  digested,  often  leads  them  into 
absurd  turns  of  expression  and  grotesque  figures  of  speech,  but  one 
is  impressed  by  the  seriousness  with  which  the  poets  approach  their 
task.  With  the  progress  of  time,  the  language  of  the  poets  improves, 
and  in  the  winning  poems  of  the  seventeenth  century  we  see  a 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  31 

gradual  approach  toward  perfection ;  many  of  the  poems  containing 
lines  and  passages  worthy  of  the  great  poets. 

At  the  hands  of  the  poets  of  the  Floral  Games,  the  chant  royal 
becomes  an  instrument  for  the  portrayal  of  allegory  to  the  extent 
that  the  envoi  loses  its  name  and  is  succeeded  by  the  word  allegorie. 
Had  the  allegorical  features  of  the  poems  been  introduced  in  a  skil- 
ful and  natural  manner,  the  poems  that  have  been  preserved  in  the 
Livre  Rouge  might  stand  as  monuments  of  allegorical  literature. 
But  the  reader  after  wading  through  five  strophes  in  which  are 
paraded  names  belonging  to  ancient  mythology  is  suddenly  startled, 
when  he  reaches  the  envoi  or  allegorie,  to  discover  that  Jupiter  is 
God,  that  Apollo  is  Jesus,  and  that  Daphne  is  the  Virgin  Mary.  As 
was  the  case  with  their  models,  the  poets  of  Toulouse  had  an  arti- 
ficial conception  of  allegory.  Whatever  of  vitality  there  had  been 
in  the  allegorical  treatment  of  literary  themes  had  long  since  passed 
away.  For  the  poets  of  Toulouse,  antiquity  presents  the  same  sort  of 
fascination  that  it  did  for  their  models  of  the  north;  nor  do  the 
former  understand  the  ancient  world  any  better  than  the  latter.  The 
difference  between  the  Rhetoricians  and  the  Pleiade  is  that  while  the 
former  knew  about  antiquity,  the  latter  knew  it.  Like  the  Rhetori- 
cians, the  poets  of  the  Floral  Games  have  a  fondness  for  parading 
their  knowledge.  Under  their  pens  long  enumerations  are  made  of 
the  heroes  of  antiquity:  heroes  and  heroines  of  mythology,  great 
writers,  characters  from  history.  The  occult  sciences,  astrology  and 
alchemy,  have  an  irresistible  charm.  Abstruse  questions  of  philoso- 
phy attract  these  student  poets  as  the  flame  does  the  moth.  The 
burning  questions  of  the  times  hardly  disturb  them  at  all.  But  for 
an  occasional  poem  on  the  reigning  sovereign  or  the  dauphin,  there  is 
scarcely  any  portrayal  of  the  times  in  approximately  three  hundred 
chants  royaux  recorded  in  the  Livre  Rouge,  covering  a  period  of 
a  hundred  years,  the  period  which  witnessed  the  struggles  of  human- 
ism and  the  Reformation,  and  in  the  political  realm  the  growth  of 
France  into  an  absolute  monarchy  under  the  strong  hand  of 
Richelieu. 

A  survey  of  a  few  of  the  poems  contained  in  the  Livre  Rouge 
will  furnish  the  key  to  the  contents  as  a  whole.  By  1540,  as  already 
stated,  all  of  the  winning  poems  were  chants  royaux.  In  that  year 


32  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

a  young  poet,  Corriere,  celebrates  a  shepherd  guarding  his  flocks  in 
a  "  sumptuous  valley."  In  the  envoi  we  are  told  that  the  shepherd 
is  God,  the  flock  is  human  nature,  the  lamb  is  the  Saviour,  and  the 
sheep,  the  Virgin.  Claude  Terlon48  depicts  the  passion  of  our  Lord. 
Apollo  is  Jesus,  Daphne  is  his  body  born  in  chastity.  Jehan  Rus,  of 
Bordeaux,  celebrates  "  1'arbre  passant  toute  oeuvre  naturelle."  This 
marvellous  tree,  situated  "  towards  Greece,"  has  a  powerful  attrac- 
tion: 

De  toutes  partz,  pour  ce  boys  a  grand  presse 

Vous  eussiez  veu  gens  venir  et  aller.47 

The  Grand  Turk  appears  to  mar  the  perfect  bliss  and  happiness  of 
the  scene.  The  tree  is  Jesus,  the  Grand  Turk  is  the  Devil. 

Qui  fist  mourir  (au  moings  comme  il  pensoit) 
L'arbre  passant  toute  oeuvre  naturelle. 

In  1541,  Pierre  du  Cedre,  who  was  to  play  a  leading  part  as  a 
Huguenot  in  the  religious  troubles  at  Toulouse  in  the  second  half  of 
the  century,  celebrated  the  excellence  of  Poetry  in  crude  verses  in 
which  he  enumerated  a  list  of  names  from  the  Bible  and  from  Greek 
and  Roman  antiquity:  Moses,  David,  Orpheus,  Museus,  the  Sybil, 
Lynus,  Plato,  Homer,  Virgil,  and  Ovid,  concluding  his  argument 
with  the  refrain: 

"  Laurier  sans  f  euille  et  sans  loz  bon  poete." 

Mercadier  de  Besse  wrestles  with  the  "  Cognition  de  la  chose 
divine."  In  1543  Pierre  Pascal  introduces  us  to  another  wonderful 
tree,  this  time  the  marvellous  tree  is  "  towards  Judea,"  and  is  a  tree 

"  Que48  1'homme  rend  a  jamais  bien  heureux." 
In  1544,  fitienne  Forcatel,4'  who  later  was  selected  as  professor  of 

48  Also  spelled  =  Trellon. 

47  Some  of  the  poems  cited  have  been  previously  printed,  but  many  are  here 
published  for  the  first  time. 

48  Should  be  qui. 

49  In  the  Livre  Rouge,  he  signs  his  name  thus,  but  it  has  usually  appeared 
in  print  as  Forcadel. 

60  Known  as  the  Father  of  Modern  Law. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  33 

law  in  the  university  for  the  chair  for  which  Cujas50  had  entered 
into  competition,  began  an  unintelligible  philosophical  poem : 

"  Demagorgon,  le  grand  pere  des  dieux, 
Sortit  du  creux  de  I'abisme  du  monde.  ..." 

In  1548,  Anthoine  Noguier,  who  wrote  in  Latin  a  well  known 
history  of  Toulouse  is  obsessed  with  the  idea  of  primal  causes,  the 
remoteness  of  which  he  seeks  to  impress  upon  the  reader  by  the 
repetition  of  the  word  "avant:" 

"Avant  le  poix,  avant  nombre  et  mesure, 
Avant  Chaos  et,  son  encombrement, 
Avant  le  cours  de  Phoebus  qui  mesure 
Les  chaudz  et  froidz  sentiers  obliquement, 
Avant  que  fust  du  monde  la  machine, 
Avant  la  mer  et  son  ample  piscine, 
Avant  que  feust  le  Centre  mesure, 
L'idee  estoit  sans  fin  nulle  et  naissance 
Et  contenoit  en  son  sein  azure 
Ung  tout  en  trois  d'une  mesmes  essence." 

From  the  allegoric  we  learn  that  the  "  tout  en  trois  "  is  the  Trinity. 
In  1549,  Helie  Boyresse's  vision  is  dazzled  by  a  green  tree, 
"  pleasant  and  delectable ; "  from  the  refrain  we  learn  that  it  is 

"  La  verte  olyve  en  ce  monde  honnoree." 

and  from  the  Envoi,  the  son  of  God  "  f ruict  sortant  de  la  pucelle." 
In  the  same  year  Mathieu  de  Chalvet,  afterwards  first  president  of 
the  parlement  of  Toulouse,  and  translator  of  Seneca,  carried  his 
audience  into  a  "  cloz  delicieulx  "  to  witness 

"  Le  seul  Phenix,  se  tuant  pour  renaistre." 
In  1550,  Jehan  de  Flavyn  has  an  eye  single  to 

"  Le  poinct  parf aict  dont  deppend  tout  le  monde." 
In  1551,  Pierre  de  Sainct  Aignan  celebrates 

"  La  nef  flottant  pour  le  salut  du  monde." 


34  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

In  1554,  an  honorary  prize  was  awarded  to  Pierre  de  Ronsard,61 
and  for  the  first  time  a  sonnet  appeared  upon  the  records  of  the 
Livre  Rouge,  not  as  a  winning  poem,  but  accompanying  a  ballade, 
for  which  Sanxon  de  la  Croix,  escollier,  was  awarded  the  Violet. 
Since  the  ballade  had  practically  ceased  to  be  a  form  of  the  Floral 
Games,  we  are  led  to  suspect  that  the  judges  were  influenced  in  their 
decision  by  the  sonnet : 

"  Chantez,  mes  vers,  entonnez  un  tel  son 
Que  vous  puissiez  plaire  aux  doctes  oreilles, 
Et  toy,  mon  luth,  fredonne  les  merveilles 
De  1'fiternel,  en  ta  doulce  chanson. 

Tu  as  apriz  de  Phebus  ta  lec,on, 
Ces  chantz  secretz  et  choses  nonpareilles 
Et  pourquoy  done  est-ce  que  tu  sommeilles, 
Te  congnoissant  des  Muses  nourrisson? 

Fay  moy  parler  tes  resonnantes  cordes 

Le  loz  divin  que  sur  elles  accordes, 

Et  charge-moy  sur  tes  chansons  de  miel, 

Ann  qu'estant  sur  leur  eschigne  forte, 
Je  puisse  ung  jour  aller  frapper  la  porte 
Du  temple  sainct  qu'ont  les  Muses  au  ciel." 

A  few  sonnets  aside,  the  first  sustained  breath  of  the  Renais- 
sance is  to  be  found  in  a  hymn  on  the  Nativity,  a  poem  of  almost  a 
hundred  lines  in  alexandrins,  which  Loys  du  Pin  inserted,  along 
with  a  conventional  chant  royal,  in  1569: 

"  Sus !  laisses  voz  brebis  et  voz  troupeaulx  de  bestes ; 
Accoures  tous  ensemble  aveques  voz  musetes, 
Prenez,  voz  chalumeaux  et  d'un  son  gracieux 
Chantes  et  rechantes  chascun  a  qui  mieulx  mieulx, 
Car  c'est  a  ceste  nuict  que  le  filz  du  grand  pere 
Est  sorty  des  liens  du  ventre  de  sa  mere. 
Sus  done !  despeches  vous,  en  Bethleem  coures, 
Ou  sur  ung  peu  de  foin  1'enfant  vous  troeuveres." 

The  poets  of  the  Floral  Games  of  the  sixteenth  century  have  a 

51  An  honorary  prize  was  awarded  to  Baif  in  1586. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  35 

fondness  for  miraculous  trees  and  paradisiacal  gardens.  Frangois 
de  Chalvet  succeeds  in  giving  an  atmosphere  of  actuality  to  such 
threadbare  themes  when  he  introduces  us  to 

"  Le  jardin  fleurissant  sur  les  bordz  de  Garonne." 

The  "  chaste  pucelle  "  who  graces  it  with  her  presence  is  Clemence 
Ysaure,  "  les  grand  dieux  "  are  the  capitouls,  and  the  flowers  that 
adorn  it  are  the  Violet,  Eglantine  and  Marigold  of  the  Floral  Games. 
The  poem  is  grotesque;  but  perhaps  the  most  sublimely  ridiculous 
poem  in  the  whole  collection  is  one  by  which  the  same  writer  won 
his  third  prize,  the  Eglantine,  in  1581.  The  refrain  indicates  the 
nature  of  the  poem : 

"  L'oeuvre  qui  se  parf aict  dans  le  vase  alchimique." 
The  ceuvre  is  the  philosophical  egg, 

"  C'est  1'ceuf  philosophal  dans  lequel  on  proiete 
Durant  trois  mois  triples  nostre  pierre  secrete." 

In  1577,  Jehan  Sevestre,  a  Parisian,  presented  a  chant  royal  and 
won  the  Eglantine.  His  poem  in  honor  of  the  holy  and  sacred 
Trinity,  the  poet  calls  a  chant  royal  monocole,  dedocastrophe,  inter- 
calaire,  acrostiche.  He  calls  the  first  strophe  Proode,  the  second 
Strophe,  the  third  Mesode,  the  fourth  Antistrophe,  the  fifth 
Epode,  and  the  envoi,  Epirrheme.  Thus,  in  this  poem  are  blended 
ill-digested  ideas  of  the  Rhetoricians  and  the  Pleiade.  For  all  the 
poet's  pretensions,  the  poem  does  not  differ  from  the  other  chants 
royaux  except  that  it  is  an  acrostic  and  instead  of  being  monocle, 
perfectly  homogeneous,  as  the  author  claims,  is  perhaps  more  inco- 
herent than  the  majority  of  the  poems  contained  in  the  Livre  Rouge. 
The  first  letters  of  the  lines  of  the  first  strophe  spell  the  poet's  name. 
Those  of  the  second  strophe  rell  that  he  is  "  Parisien,"  and  the  first 
lines  of  the  remaining  strophes  announce  the  subject  of  the  poem: 
"  En  1'honneur  de  la  saincte  et  sacree  Trinite."  The  first  strophe 
illustrates  sufficiently  the  chant  royal  as  a  whole: 

"  /e  chanteray  1'honneur  souverain  de  nature, 
Apres  Pythagoras,  montant  dessus  les  cieux, 
Way  ant  encore  aucun  fraye  cest'  adventure, 


36  Totilouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Sur  le  plus  hault  esprit  j'esleveray  mes  yeux. 

£n  1'unite  on  voit  1'origine  premiere 

Fn  principe  comun  de  toute  la  matiere 

Et  de  la  forme  ornant  cest  univers  parf aict ; 

Toute  loy  tend  a  un,  ainsi  qu'un  a  tout  faict, 

/?etourne  tout  en  un,  comenqant  un  en  nombre 

Et  finist  on  en  un,  car  tout  faict  et  refaict 

L'unite  divisant  et  unissant  tout  nombre." 

The  poet's  belief  in  the  virtue  of  numbers  is  a  reminiscence  of 
the  Pythagorean  philosophy  which  was  reduced  by  the  schoolmen  of 
the  middle  ages  to  abstract  formulas.  To  certain  numbers,  such  as 
I>  3»  4,  5,  9>  and  IO>  marvellous  powers  or  properties  were  attributed, 
From  the  time  of  Dhuoda,  who  wrote  in  Latin  in  the  ninth  century, 
to  go  back  no  further,  down  through  the  middle  ages,  the  science  of 
numbers  had  attracted  writers.  Frequently  the  poets  of  the  Floral 
Games  enveloped  their  poems  in  the  mystery  and  allegory  of 
numbers. 

"Le  trois,  nombre  sacre,  moulle  de  toute  essence." 
"Le  rond  qui  du  quadrangle  est  le  centre  immobile." 
"  Les  trois  angles  esgaulx  du  parf  ait  isoplure." 
"  Le  rond  qui  de  trois  ronds  est  le  centre  immobile." 

Excursions  into  physics,  chemistry,  or  medicine,  give  such 
lines  as: 

"  L'aymant  qui  donne  vie  au  metal  insensible." 
"  L'eau  fort  qui  des  metaux  divise  la  substance." 
"  Le  simple  distille  dans  le  bain  de  Marie." 
"  Le  corail  destruisant  le  charme  des  sorcieres." 
"  Les  effets  merveilleux  de  1'eau  de  jalousie." 

In  their  wide  interest  in  knowledge,  in  their  boldness  in  approach- 
ing the  most  abstruse  questions  of  philosophy,  astrology,  alchemy, 
astronomy,  physics,  medicine,  chemistry,  or  what  not,  the  poets  of 
the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  at  Toulouse  are  of  the 
Renaissance.  They  represent  the  natural  development  of  the  tenden- 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  37 

cies  of  the  Rhetoricians  modified  by  the  new  spirit.  By  comparing 
them  with  the  Pleiade,  it  is  easy  to  see  what  a  profound  revolution 
was  worked  in  French  poetry  by  Du  Bellay,  Ronsard,  Desportes, 
and  other  members  of  the  group.  The  following  lines,  most  of  them 
refrains,  will  give  some  notion  of  the  variety  of  the  topics  which 
these  riders  of  an  unruly  Pegasus  undertook  to  treat:52 

1552.  "La  ronde  sphere  a  son  centre  fondee." 

1553.  "  Le  petit  monde  estant  encor  a  naistre." 

1554.  "  Les  deux  liqueurs  arrosans  tout  le  monde." 

1558.  "L'esprit  universel  infuz  en  ce  bas  monde." 

1559.  "La  pure  et  simple  forme  exempte  de  nature." 

1560.  "Les  formes  qui  sans  forme  ont  forme  la  machine." 

1561.  "  L'astre  qui  plus  reluict  au  zodiaque  oblique." 

1562.  "  L'edifice  immortel  de  la  divine  essence." 
1564.  "  L'eschelle  qui  conjoinct  la  terre  avec  les  cieux." 

"  La  lune  du  soleil  empruntant  la  lumiere." 

1567.  "  La  clarte  flamboiant  dans  la  lampe  eternelle." 

1569.  "  L'accord  entretenant  le  ciel,  la  terre  et  1'onde." 

1570.  "  L'estoille  mariniere  aux  navigans  propice." 
1573.  "  La  matiere  aspirant  a  la  forme  parfaicte." 
1573.  "  L'ame  vivifiant  ce  que  le  ciel  enserre." 
1577.  "  L'estoile  par  1'escler  du  soleil  redoree." 

1579.  "  Les  trois  poinctz  rapportes  en  la  ligne  ecliptique." 

1581.  "  L'oeuvre  qui  se  parfaict  dans  le  vase  alchimique." 

1584.  "Les  discors  accordes  d'eternelle  discorde," 

1586.  "  Le  cristal  honorant  la  fontaine  de  vie." 

1586.  "  Le  luth  qui  remplist  tout  d'une  saincte  harmonic." 

1589.  "Le  triangle  accompli  de  trois  lignes  esgalles." 
"  Astrologue  subtil,  qui  as  la  cognoissance, 

De  maintz  evenements  que  tu  vas  predisant." 

1590.  "  Le  charme  qui  nous  lie  a  1'amour  eternelle." 
I59I-     "  Je  sm's  grand  alchimiste  et  qui  de  la  nature 

Recherche  curieux  les  plus  rares  secretz." 
1593.     "  L'esprit,  Tame  et  le  cors  de  la  pierre  alchimique." 
1596.     "  La  navire  bruslee  au  miroir  d'Archimede." 

82  Monsieur  Frangois  de  Gelis,  mainteneur  of  the  Floral  Games,  has 
recently  written  an  article  upon  the  humanistic  tendencies  of  the  poets  of  the 
Floral  Games.  See  Memoires  de  I' Academic  des  Sciences  de  Toulouse,  1919: 
Les  Poetes  humanities  des  Jeux  Floraux. 


38  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

1598.  "  Du  bel  astre  argente  la  lumiere  eclipsee." 

1600.  "  La  Colure  marquant  1'un  et  1'autre  solstice." 

1602.  "  Les  sept  astres  puyssants  qui  esclairent  le  monde." 

1604.  "  La  verge  descouvrant  les  richesses  du  monde." 

1604.  "  Les  douze  astres  bornans  du  soleil  la  carriere." 

1613.  "  Le  diamant  brize  par  ung  coup  de  tonnerre." 

1614.  "  Le  ruisseau  qui  resoult  les  pierres  endurcies." 

1615.  "  Le  neant  devenu  de  1'infini  capable." 

Let  it  be  recalled  that  the  purpose  of  the  poems,  as  reiterated 
again  and  again  in  the  pages  of  the  Livre  Rouge,  was  to  glorify 
God,  the  Virgin,  and  the  saints.  The  effect  of  the  Rhetorician  influ- 
ence and  of  the  paganizing  influence  of  the  Renaissance  was  to 
deflect  the  poems  from  the  stated  purpose.  The  semblance  of  a 
religious  import  or  intention  was  preserved  by  explaining  in  the 
envoi  or  allegoric  that  the  things  treated  in  the  poem  were  sym- 
bolical, and  had  some  religious  or  moral  significance  which  the  poet 
proceeds  to  indicate. 

The  fondness  for  the  occult  sciences  on  the  part  of  the  Toulouse 
poets  was  probably  due  to  the  impetus  which  they  had  received  in 
France  at  the  opening  of  the  century.  Cornelius  Agrippa  had  lived 
for  some  time  in  Lyons.  Other  mediaeval  scientists  were  there  also, 
as  for  example,  Simon  de  Phares,  whom  Charles  VIII  visited  in 
1495,  and  an  Italian  who  boasted  of  transmuting  baser  metals  into 
gold.  The  celebrated  Nostradamus  lived  in  Provence  in  the  earlier 
sixteenth  century,  and  Julius  Caesar  Scaliger  lived  at  Agen,  not  far 
from  Toulouse.58 

While  influences  of  the  Pleiade  are  not  entirely  wanting  in  the 
poems  of  the  Floral  Games  in  the  sixteenth  century,  it  is  not  until 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  that  the  Pleiade  influence  makes 
a  sufficient  impression  to  materially  improve  the  poetic  quality  of 
the  chant  royal.  In  1601,  Paul  du  May,  a  young  poet  of  Toulouse, 
won  the  Eglantine  for  a  poem  which  shows  a  wide  departure  from 
the  preceding  poets. 

"  C'estoit  en  la  saison  que  Taisle  peinturee 
De  Zephir  esvantoit  maint  fleuron  gracieux, 
Dont  le  nouveau  printemps  rend  sa  flore  pourpree, 
••  For  a  good  account  of  Scaliger,  see  Christie,  Etienne  Dolet. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  39 

Descouvrant  cest  esmail  qui  decore  les  cieux, 

Quand  je  vis  ces  thresors  dont  la  vermeille  aurore 

A  la  pointe  du  jour  son  visaige  redore. 

Et  le  tige  amoureux  du  soucy  blondissant 

Qui  baisoit  le  beau  tainct  de  1'oeilhet  rougissant; 

Admirant  la  beaute  de  sa  fleur  nompareille 

Le  soleil  entr'ouvrist  mes  yeux  esblouissant 

Les  lis  d'or  embrassans  la  fleur  de  Us  vermeille." 

This  poem,  on  the  marriage  of  Henry  IV  to  Marie  de  Medicis 
and  the  arms  or  blasons  of  the  two  families,  is  conceived  more 
nearly  in  the  manner  of  the  Pleiade  than  any  of  the  poems,  perhaps, 
that  had  preceded  it.  In  this  same  year,  a  sonnet  was  inserted  in 
the  Livre  Rouge,  which  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  influence  of 
Desportes : 

"  Et  quoi,  mon  cher  souci,  serez-vous  toujours  telle? 
Aimez-vous  toujours  a  me  faire  mourir? 
Ha !  que  le  Ciel  fist  mal  de  vous  former  si  belle 
Et  de  tant  de  beaux  dons  vostre  esprit  f avorir ! 

Mais  bien,  si  tant  vous  plaist,  une  mort  bien  cruelle 
Bornera  mes  tourmens,  sans  gueres  plus  souffrir, 
Puisque  par  trait  de  temps  mon  service  fiddle 
N'a  sc.u  de  vos  beaux  yeux  la  rigueur  amoindrir ! 

Ainsi  parloit  Philon,  aiant  Tame  blessee 
Des  beaux  yeux  ennemis  de  sa  belle  Dircee, 
Trop  beaux  et  trop  cruelz  a  ses  contentemens. 

Mais  enfin  ce  berger,  apres  tant  de  souffrances, 
Comme  un  ruze  soldat,  il  a  donne  dedans, 
Aiant  par  son  discours  abbattu  les  deffences." 

In  1618,  Jean  Allard,  of  Mirapoix,  was  awarded  the  Eglantine 
for  a  chant  royal,  "  a  1'imitation  des  tableaux  de  Philostrate."  This 
poem  presents  a  curious  blending  of  pagan  sensuality  and  Christian 
morality : 

"  Voyes  son  sein  de  neige  ou  mesmes  dans  la  glace 
Amour  nourrit  ses  f  eux  et  garde  son  flambeau ; 
Sur  ces  deux  petits  monts  quelquefois  il  prend  place 


4O  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Et  ressemble  Apollon  sur  le  double  coupeau. 
Son  col  dessur  1'yvoire  emporte  1'avantage, 
Mais  1'art  de  la  nature  est  plus  grand  au  visage, 
Les  lys  y  sont  mesles  d'un  beau  teint  de  pudeur, 
La  rose  est  sur  sa  bouche,  au  dedans  son  odeur, 
Et  Zephire  amoureux  d'une  si  doulce  haleine, 
Baise  sans  estre  veu,  tout  pasme  de  douceur 
Susannc  qui  se  lave  au  bord  de  la  fontaine. 

In  the  reddition  de  I'allegorie  we  learn  that  Suzanne  is  the  soul  of 
the  sinner. 

The  poem  which  is  perhaps  the  best  sustained  throughout  and 
which  presents  the  most  vivid  imagery  is  that  of  Bernard  d'Alies, 
of  Toulouse,  Doctor  of  Theology,  for  which  the  Violet  was  awarded 
in  1623: 

CHANT  ROYAL. 

POUR  UNE  DESCRIPTION  D'UN  POURTRAIT  DE 
SAINCTE  MAGDELAINE. 

Quel  est  ce  beau  pourtrait  ?     Seroit-ce  Magdelene  ? 

Mais  pourquoy  les  couleurs  1'ont  peinte  sans  couleur? 

Elle  qui  parloit  tant,  va  souspirant  a  peine, 

Elle  qui  rioit  tant  est  pleine  de  doleur. 

Ses  yeux  qui  les  espritz  rengeoient  sous  le  servage, 

S'abaissent  soubs  la  Croix  et  luy  rendent  homage. 

Ses  mains,  filles  d'honeur,  qui  soignent  sa  beaute, 

En  conspirent  la  perte  avec  sa  cruaulte. 

Elle  ravissoit  tout,  elle  est  touste  ravie. 

Non,  sans  doubte,  voila,  foulant  la  vanite, 

Magdelene  pleurant  le  printems  de  sa  vie. 

Elle  est  la  de  son  long,  sur  1'herbe,  la  mondaine, 

Ainsin  1'orage  abat  une  nouvelle  fleur 

Qui  rehaussoit  1'honneur  et  le  pris  d'une  plaine, 

Et  luy  couvre  son  tainct  d'un  voile  de  palleur. 

Mille  amours  de  ses  yeux  fuient  a  vol,  a  nage, 

Les  petitz-filz  des  eaux  craignent-ilz  le  naufrage? 

Sur  ce  front,  pres  des  yeux,  quelqu'un  en  est  monte, 

Dans  son  sein,  sur  deux  montz,  les  pleurs  en  ont  porte, 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  41 

Qui  dega,  qui  dela,  quelque  route  a  suivie, 
Abandonant  au  deuil,  en  ceste  extremite, 
Magdelene  pleurant  le  printems  de  sa  vie. 

Ce  corail  anime  par  ou  sort  son  haleine 
Dans  la  mer  de  ses  pleurs  a  laisse  la  rougeur ; 
Les  roses  et  les  lis  dont  sa  face  estoit  plaine, 
N'ont  garde  que  1'espine  en  noyant  la  fraicheur. 
Ses  cheveux  tout  mouilles  s'attachent  au  visage, 
Leurs  noeuds  sont  relaches  et  leur  foible  cordage 
Ou  tant  et  tant  de  coeurs  perdoient  la  liberte, 
Ne  les  retiennent  plus  dans  la  captivite. 
Son  sexe  a  sa  beaute  ne  porte  plus  envie, 
De  tous  ses  dous  appas  les  plus  dous  ont  quitte 
Magdelene  pleurant  le  printems  de  sa  vie. 

Telle  se  lamentant  on  pourroit  peindre  Helene, 

Quand  le  Grec  d'llion  demeura  le  vainceur, 

Si  Ton  ne  sgavoit  pas  qu'elle  estoit  toutte  vaine, 

Que  les  pleurs  de  ses  yeux  n'estoient  pas  ceux  du  coeur! 

Mais  regardes  la  nostre  avec  quel  fort  courage 

Pour  1'amour  de  son  Dieu  son  beau  corps  elle  outrage! 

On  diroit  que  son  bras  n'est  jamais  arreste, 

Qu'un  coup  a  1'autre  coup  est  tous  jours  adjouste, 

Et  ny  lasse  jamais,  ny  jamais  assouvie, 

Extreme  on  voit  tousjours,  en  son  austerite, 

Magdelene  pleurant  le  printemps  de  sa  vie. 

Elle  mesle  son  sang  a  ses  pleurs,  1'inhumaine, 

Son  ame  seullement  conserve  sa  blancheur. 

Un  ruisseau  de  son  sang  coule  de  chasque  veine, 

Elle  veut  y  noyer  son  crime  et  son  erreur. 

Son  Dieu  qui  pend  en  croix  sur  le  hault  de  1'ouvrage, 

Semble  de  son  amour  lui  rendre  tesmoignage. 

Voyes !  elle  se  veut  cacher  en  son  coste 

Et  son  esprit  de  zelle  et  d'ardeur  transporte, 

D'y  faire  sa  demeure  a  jamais  la  convie, 

Logeant  dans  le  sejour  de  la  felicite 

Magdelene  pleurant  le  printemps  de  sa  vie. 


42  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

REDDITION  D'ALLEGORIE. 

Unc  ame  qui  cognoist  le  seigneur  yrrite, 

Qui  demande  pardon  a  sa  divinite, 

Rendant  sa  volonte  soubs  ses  lois  asservie, 

Elle  est  dans  ce  pourtrait,  cerchant  (sic)  1'eternite 

Magdelene  pleurant  le  printemps  de  sa  vie.6* 

Not  often  do  the  poets  of  the  College  of  Rhetoric  strike  a  per- 
sonal note.  There  are,  however,  some  cases : 

J'estois  pres  d'ung  ruisseau  dont  les  ondes  sucrees 
Arrousoient  de  nectar  les  campaignes  sacrees. 

J'esleve  mon  esprit  vers  la  voute  azuree, 
Pour  chanter  la  bonte  des  secourables  dieux. 

Master  Bertrand  Larade  shows  himself  a  true  Gascon  :55 

Une  nouvelle  ardeur  eschauffe  mon  courage 
Et  1'anime  si  fort  qu'il  se  treuve  emporte 
Du  dezir  violant  d'entreprendre  ung  ouvrage 
Qui  puisse  faire  ung  jour,  honte  a  1'antiquite. 

Infrequently,  the  poets  attempt  to  portray  external  nature.  The 
following  lines  from  Catel,58  1617,  illustrate  the  ability  of  the  young 
poets  to  deal  with  nature : 

Les  pluies,  les  frimas,  la  glace  et  la  gelee, 
La  neige  et  la  rigeur  d'un  hyver  ocieux 
Aux  bruslantes  chaleurs  esgalement  meslee, 

**Lwre  Rouge,  vol.  2,  f.  271.    Published  as  a  whole  for  the  first  time. 

••Bertrand  de  Larade  was  born  in  1581  at  Montrejeau.  He  became  a  poet 
and  made  his  reputation  by  La  Muse  gasconne  which  he  composed  in  1607. 
This  volume  is  made  up  of  pastorals,  chansons,  odes  and  sonnets.  In  his 
Hittoire  littfraire  des  patois,  Dr.  Noulet  represents  him  as  a  poet  of  little 
originality  but  of  pleasing  naivete.  In  1910  a  commemorative  tablet  was  placed 
upon  the  house  which  he  had  inhabited  at  Montrejeau,  accompanied  by  eulogies 
in  verse  and  prose,  the  most  excessive  of  which  characterised  him  as  the  Homer 
of  Languedoc.  The  different  editions  of  his  works  are:  La  Margalide  gasconne 
(1604),  La  Muse  gasconne  (1607),  La  Muse  piranese  (1609).  All  three  were 
printed  at  Toulouse  by  Colomies. 

•*  Charles  Catel,  whom  Dumege  affirms,  but  without  furnishing  proofs, 
to  have  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  well-known  historian,  author  of  Les 
Comtes  de  Toulouse. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  43 

Nous  dement  maintenant  ung  printemps  gracieux, 
Le  soleil  nous  aproche  et  la  terre  plus  belle, 
Tapissee  de  fleurs,  met  sa  robe  nouvelle. 
Tout  rit  a  ce  beau  May,  les  petitz  amoreaux 
Dansent  f  olastrement  sur  le  bord  des  ruisseaux. 
Et  Zephir  qui  flechit  soubz  leur  obeissance 
Faict  esclorre  parmi  la  verdure  des  preaux 
La  fleur  qui  rend  I'odeur  au  point  de  sa  naissance. 

The  later  Greek  influence  of  the  Renaissance  which  reached  its 
most  perfect  expression  in  Racine,  was  felt  at  Toulouse.  A  strophe 
from  a  chant  royal  for  which  Bernard  Boyssonade  was  awarded 
the  Marigold  in  1640,  will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  poet's  ability 
in  handling  a  Greek  subject : 

POLIXENE. 

Ilion  n'estoit  plus;  desja  toute  la  Grece 
Songe  a  recevoir  ces  filz  ou  ces  peres  absans, 
Lorsque  la  terre  s'ouvre  au  milieu  de  la  presse ; 
On  oit  de  bruits  confus  et  de  cris  languissans; 
Achille  en  sort  et  dit :  "  Race  lache  et  maudite, 
"  S'il  te  souvient  encor  de  mon  peu  de  merite, 
"Que  Polixene  meure!  En  cela  seullement 
"  Rends  un  juste  devoir  a  mon  ressentiment. 
"  Elle  verra  mon  sang  pour  le  sang  de  Troile, 
"  Dois-je  pas  veoir  aussy,  pour  mon  soulagement, 
"Polixene  immolee  au  sepulchre  d' Achille  f" 

The  Livre  Rouge  contains  several  poems  of  more  or  less  his- 
torical interest.  Among  them  is  one  on  the  crowning  of  Louis 
XIII  at  Rheims:57 

Les  Frangois,  dans  1'exces  d'une  joye  incroiable, 
Alumoint  mille  feus  par  touts  les  carrefours; 
On  n'oyoit  dedans  Reyms  qu'un  meslange  agreable 
De  leurs  chantz  d'alegresse  et  du  son  des  tambours; 
Le  pave  parseme  d'une  moisson  fleurie 
Paroissoit  soubs  leurs  pas  une  belle  prairie ; 
Un  ciel  de  drap,  tendu  pour  la  solempnite, 

67  Livre  Rouge,  vol.  2,  f.  325,  v°.     Hitherto  unpublished. 


44  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Deroboit  a  leurs  yeux  le  ciel  plain  de  clarte, 
D'ou  pour  nouveau  subject  de  leur  resjouissance 
Venoint  en  ce  moment  a  leur  prince  indompte 
Les  lys  donnes  du  ciel  au  sceptre  de  la  France. 

Le  devant  des  maisons,  a  ce  jour  memorable, 
Effagoit  tout  1'eclat  des  plus  superbes  Cours, 
II  ne  paroissoit  plus  a  soy  mesme  semblable, 
Revestu  de  drap  d'or,  de  pourpre  et  de  velours ; 
Les  festons,  les  tableaux  et  la  tapisserie 
Changeoient  la  moindre  rue  en  riche  galerie, 
Chaque  place  sembloit  un  palais  enchante 
Tant  elle  avoit  de  pompe  et  de  diversite, 
Lorsque,  pour  acomplir  ceste  magnificence 
On  vit  reluire  en  1'air,  plain  de  serenite, 
Les  lys  donnes  du  ciel  au  sceptre  de  la  France. 

Louis  sortoit  alors  de  ce  temple  admirable 
Ou  son  coeur  abjura  ses  dieux  foibles  et  sourds 
Pour  celuy  qu'il  avoit  epreuve  secourable, 
Sy  tost  qu'a  sa  puissance  il  avoit  eu  recours ; 
Ses  precieux  habits  brilhoient  de  broderie, 
Ou  ce  meloit  la  perle  avec  la  pierrerie ; 
Son  front  d'une  charmante  et  douce  gravite 
Mettoit  d'accord  1'amour  avec  la  majeste, 
Et  ne  faloit  que  veoir  son  aymable  presence 
Pour  croire  que  le  prince  avoit  bien  merite 
Les  lys  donnes  du  ciel  au  sceptre  de  la  France. 

Aussy  veoit-il  soudain  un  heraud  favorable 
Qui  luy  porte  d'en  haut  ce  visible  secours; 
II  est  surpris  de  veoir  son  visage  adorable 
Qui  ternit  les  appas  du  plus  beau  des  amours, 
Son  maintien  le  ravit,  ou,  sans  affeterie, 
Avecque  la  douceur  la  beaute  ce  marie ; 
II  admire  ces  yeux,  dont  la  vivacite 
Fait  veoir  quelque  rayon  de  la  divinite, 
Et  commence  a  porter  plus  haut  son  esperance 
Despuis  qu'entre  ses  mains  ont  si  bien  eclate 
Les  lys  donnes  du  ciel  au  sceptre  de  la  France. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  45 

Grand  Dieu,  s'ecrie  alors  ce  prince  incomparable, 

N'estoit-ce  pas  asses,  pour  bien  heurer  mes  jours, 

D'avoir  ceste  liqueur,  a  jamais  perdurable, 

Qui  doit  de  nos  bonheurs  eterniser  le  cours, 

Sy  pour  mieux  tesmoigner  que  ma  chere  patrie 

Sur  tous  autres  pais  de  ton  coeur  est  cherie, 

Tu  n'usses  le  ciel  mesmes  en  nos  mains  transporte, 

Et  des  trois  astres  d'or  son  azur  marquete. 

Continue  enve(r)s  nous,  Seigneur,  ta  bienveillance, 

Et  defens  a  jamais,  de  toute  adversite, 

Les  lys  donnes  du  ciel  au  sceptre  de  la  France. 

Allegoric. 

Mon  Roy,  qui  de  nos  maux  a  la  source  tarie, 

Est  ce  brave  Louis,  chassant  1'idolatrie, 

Et  le  grand  Richelieu,  dont  la  fidelite 

Maintient  les  trois  estats  sous  son  authorite 

Et  par  qui  son  Empire  est  mis  en  asseurance, 

Est  cet  ange  qui  porte  en  toute  surete 

Les  lys  donnes  du  Ciel  au  sceptre  de  la  France. 

Jean  Doujat  (i634).58 

In  1639  appeared  a  chant  royal  by  a  poet  named  Clarac  in  honor 
of  the  birth  of  the  Dauphin,  afterwards  Louis  XIV.59  The  author 
wrote  also  a  comedy  published  at  Lyons,  entitled:  Arlequin  ou 
Grapignan  gascou.  Following  is  an  extract  of  the  poem : 

"  L'on  voit  autour  de  luy  que  la  terre  f  econde 
Ne  laisse  jamais  rien  ny  secher  ni  pourrir. 
Une  source  de  lait  1'arrouse  de  son  onde, 
Dont  le  cours  immortel  ne  peut  jamais  tarir. 
La  le  monde  semble  entre  en  sa  premiere  enfance, 
Et  le  plaisir  s'y  prend  avec  tant  d'innocence 

58  Jean   Doujat,  born   1606 — died    1688,   became   a  member   of   the   French 
Academy  in  1650.    He  was  professor  of  canon  and  civil  law  in  the  university  of 
Toulouse.    It  is  said  that  he  spoke  nearly  all  the  languages  known,  both  ancient 
and  modern.     He  collected  a  large  library  of  works  on  theology,  history  and 
philology.    He  was   the   author   of   a   well   known   Dictionnaire  de   la   langue 
toulousaine.    Before  his  death  he  was  appointed  historiographer  to  the  king. 
In  1634  and  1638  he  won  the  Eglantine  and  the  Violet  in  the  Floral  Games. 

59  Born  September  5,  1638. 


46  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Que  les  plus  medisans  n'y  peuvent  rien  forger. 
Dans  cet  heureux  climat,  Silvie  et  son  berger 
Enflammes  des  ardeurs  d'une  amour  mutuelle, 
Centre  celles  du  jour  cherchent  pour  s'ombrager 
L'arbre  qui  rajunit  par  une  ante  nouvelle. 

"  Cet  arbre  ne  craint  pas  qu'on  le  coupe  ou  1'esmonde, 
Son  bonheur  est  cy  grand  qu'il  n'a  rien  a  souffrir ; 
S'il  gresle,  s'il  fait  vent,  si  le  tonnerre  gronde, 
C'est  pour  grossir  les  fruitz  et  les  faire  meurir. 
Par  ses  proprietes  Dieu  fait  veoir  sa  puissance, 
II  l'a  vouleu  douer  d'une  telle  excellance 
Que  mesme  en  le  touchant  Ton  ce  peut  alleger 
Du  plus  cruel  des  maux  qui  nous  viene  affliger, 
Et  ceste  qualite  qu'il  a  sy  naturelle 
Fait  souhaiter  sans  cesse  au  pais  etranger 
L'arbre  qui  rajunit  par  une  ante  nouvelle. 

"  Tout  le  monde  est  ravi  des  biens  dont  il  abonde, 
La  terre,  1'air,  le  feu,  sont  faitz  pour  le  nourrir, 
Et  si  1'on  veoit  ici  que  1'Ocean  inonde, 
C'est  afin  que  cet  arbre  y  puisse  refleurir. 
Les  cieux  lui  font  tribut  et  pour  recognoissance 
Versent  en  sa  faveur  leur  plus  douce  influance. 
Tous  les  ans  le  printems  reviend  pour  1'obliger ; 
L'este  meurit  les  fruitz  que  d'un  soin  homager 
L'automne  lui  presente  en  offrande  immortelle, 
Et  1'hiver  rigoreux  n'oseroit  outrager 
L'arbre  qui  rajunit  par  une  ante  nouvelle."60 

CONTEMPORARIES  OF  THE  PLEIADE. 
BERNARD  DE  POEY. 

It  has  already  been  shown  that  while  the  chant  royal  was  the 
sole  form  for  which  prizes  were  awarded,  the  poets  were  permitted 
to  read  poems  of  other  genres  before  the  judges  of  the  Floral 
Games.  The  major  part  of  two,  and  sometimes  three  days  was 
spent  in  listening  to  the  poets  read  their  compositions.  The  number 
read  or  recited  by  each  candidate  no  doubt  depended  largely  on  the 

80  Livre  Rouge,  vol.  2,  f.  353,  r°. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  47 

number  that  his  genius  and  inclination  had  led  him  to  compose.    In 
all  probability  a  prize  was  bestowed  frequently  for  the  poet's  works 
as  a  whole,  rather  than  for  a  single  chant  royal.    The  fact  that  sup- 
plementary poems  are  inserted  from  time  to  time  in  the  Livre  Rouge 
lends  color  to  this  supposition.    Since  a  sonnet  appears  in  the  Livre 
Rouge  in  1554*  and  since  in  that  same  year  an  honorary  prize  was 
awarded  to  Pierre  de  Ronsard,  we  know  that  the  influence  of  the 
Pleiade  was  not  long  in  being  felt  at  Toulouse.      As  early  as  1551, 
one  of  the  poets  of  the  Floral  Games,  Bernard  de  Poey  (whose 
latinized  name  was  "  Podius  "),  of  Luc  in  Beam,  published  at  Tou- 
louse a  small  volume  of  verse  entitled:  Odes  du  Gave  fleuve  en 
Beam,  du  fleuve  de  Garonne  avec  les  tristes  chans  &  sa  Caranite.    In 
addition  to  the  odes  and  tristes  chans,  the  volume  contained  three 
sonnets,  one  of  which  was  by  Pierre  du  Cedre,  whom  we  have 
already  mentioned.     Du  Bellay's  Deffence  and  his  Olive  had  ap- 
peared in  1549,  and  Ronsard's  first  volume  of  Odes  had  appeared 
in  1550.    Among  some  Latin  poems  which  he  also  published  in  1551, 
Poey  had  one  addressed  to  Ronsard.    Thus,  it  is  certain  that  the 
influence  of  Du  Bellay  and  Ronsard  was  immediately  felt  at  Tou- 
louse.   Bernard  de  Poey  was  a  student,  probably  of  medicine,61  in 
the  decade  from  1550  to  1560.    From  May,  1551,  to  May,  1660, 
he  won  at  intervals  all  three  of  the  prizes  of  the  Floral  Games  and 
became  a  master.    All  three  of  his  winning  chants  royaux  are  re- 
corded in  the  Livre  Rouge,  but  none  of  them  shows  any  marked 
Pleiade  influence.    In  addition  to  his  volumes  of  French  and  Latin 
poems,  Poey  translated  works  on  veterinary  surgery  from  the  Latin 
and  from  the  Italian.    Guillaume  Colletet,  who  in  the  seventeenth 
century  prepared  in  manuscript  the  lives  of  several  hundred  of  the 
French  poets,62  included  a  sketch  of  Bernard  de  Poey.    Colletet's 

ei  Poey  translated  works  on  veterinary  surgery ;  one  of  his  poems  was  ad- 
dressed to  a  physician;  he  was  a  friend  of  Julius  Caesar  Scaligef,  a  physician, 
at  Agen,  and  had  relations  with  a  certain  Ferrier  of  Toulouse,  doubtless  Augier 
Ferrier,  a  celebrated  physician  and  afterwafds  professor  of  medicine  in  the 
university. 

62  The  title  of  Colletet's  manuscript  collection  as  given  in  the  catalogue  of 
Antoine-Alexandre  Barbier  (Paris,  1803)  was  as  follows: 

Histoire  generate  et  particuliere  des  Poetes  franfois,  anciens  et  modernes, 
contenant  leurs  vies,  suivant  I'ordre  chronologique,  le  jugetncnt  de  leurs  tcrits 
imprimes,  et  quelques  particularites  des  Cours  des  Rois  et  des  Reines,  des  Princes 


4g  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

work  remained  in  manuscript  form  and  was  destroyed  in  the  fire 
which  consumed  the  library  of  the  Louvre  during  the  Commune  in 
1871.  Prior  to  that  date,  however,  Tamizey  de  Larroque  had  culled 
the  lives  of  the  Gascon  poets  from  Colletet's  manuscript  and  had 
published  them  in  the  Revue  de  Gascogne**  Colletet  is  severe  in 
his  judgment  of  Bernard  de  Poey  as  a  poet.  He  was  comparing 
him  to  the  great  masters.  If  we  consider  Poey's  odes  in  contrast 
with  his  chants  royaux  and  those  of  others  of  the  Livre  Rouge,  we 
are  impressed  at  least  by  their  simplicity.  The  native  language  of 
the  poet  was  the  Gascon,  and  at  the  time  at  which  he  composed  his 
poems,  the  French  had  not  become  fully  intrenched  in  the  south  of 
France.  It  was  still  a  foreign  language ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that 
Poey  could  have  composed  poems  in  it  at  all.  That  he  acquired  a 
good  knowledge  of  French  is  indicated  by  a  reference  of  Frangois 
de  Rabutin,  who  confessed  that  the  Gascon  poet  had  aided  him  to 
polish  his  French  diction.84 

It  is  almost  certain  that  Bernard  de  Poey  read  odes  and  sonnets 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Floral  Games  in  May,  1551.  In  his  Ode  de  la 
Garonne  the  poet  praises  cardinal  d'Armagnac,  first  president  of  the 

el  des  Princesses  sous  le  regne  desquels  Us  ont  fleuri,  et  qui  ont  eux-memes 
cultives  la  Poesie;  avec  quelques  autres  recherches  curieuses  que  peuvent  servir 
a  fhistoire;  par  Guillaume  Colletet,  de  I'Academie  frangoise. 

Colletet  lived  in  the  seventeenth  century.  He  had  a  wide  and  favorable 
reputation  as  a  man  of  letters.  His  manuscript  was  one  of  those  attempts 
common  to  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  of  which  De  Thou's  Histoire 
de  man  temps,  fitienne  Pasquier*s  Recherches  de  la  France,  La  Roche  Flavin's 
Les  treize  livres  des  Parlements  de  la  France,  have  come  down  as  good  ex- 
amples. Two  important  essays  of  restitution  on  the  manuscript  of  Colletet 
have  been  published:  Le  manuscrit  des  Vies  des  poetes  franfois  de  Guillaume 
Colletet,  bruit  dans  I'incendie  de  la  Bibliothtque  du  Louvre:  essai  de  restitution 
par  Leopold  Pannier  (Paris,  1872,  in-8,  de  19  pp.)i  and  Contribution  a  un  essai 
de  restitution  du  manuscrit  de  G.  Colletet,  intitult  "  Vies  des  poetes  franfois," 
Revue  de  I'histoire  litteraire  de  la  France,  1895  (2),  p.  59. 

The  mainteneurs  of  the  Floral  Games  awarded  an  honorary  prize  to  Colletet 
in  1651,  which  according  to  Lagane,  one  of  the  later  historians  of  the  Floral 
Games,  was  presented  because  Colletet  had  dedicated  the  first  edition  of  his 
works  to  the  officials  of  that  body.  The  sketch  (according  to  a  statement  of 
Colletet)  of  Bernard  de  Poey  was  written  in  1653. 

"Tome  VI,  1865.    Audi. 

44  Commentaires  des  dernieres  guerres  en  la  Gaule  Belgique,  t.  vii  de  la 
collection  des  Memoires  relatifs  a  I'Histoire  de  France,  par  MM.  Michaud  et 
Poujoulat 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  49 

parlement  Mansencal,  several  of  the  mainteneurs  and  masters  of  the 
Floral  Games,  as  well  as  other  people  of  prominence  in  Toulouse. 
Lafaille  in  his  Annales  of  Toulouse  says  that  cardinal  d'Armagnac 
made  an  entry  into  Toulouse  on  the  eve  of  the  celebration  of  the 
Floral  Games,  May  1-3,  1551 ;  that  the  capitouls  were  his  hosts  and 
entertained  him  at  a  banquet,  which  was  a  regular  feature  of  the 
celebration  of  the  Floral  Games ;  and  that  he  also  attended  the  con- 
test in  the  Hotel  de  Ville.65  Poey's  poem  was  composed  either  in 
anticipation  of,  or  shortly  after  the  visit  of  the  cardinal. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  "Ode  to  the  Garonne,"  the  poet  cele- 
brates the  beauties  of  nature  in  the  region  of  Toulouse: 

Les  cieux  colourez  par  nature, 
Les  traits  divers  de  la  peinture, 
Arbres  charge,  champs  jaunissants, 
L'ouvrage  de  marqueterie, 
Maintes  fleurs  parmi  la  prairie 
Soulagent  les  cceurs  languissans. 
L'oraison  enrichit  la  fable 
Comme  la  viande  la  table. 
Les  astres  font  les  cieux  luisans. 
Divers  harnois  faut  en  bataille. 
L'email  decore  la  medaille. 


Sus  done,  faisons  son  bruit  durable! 
Je  luy  suis  beaucoup  redevable, 
Ayant  receu  don  precieux 
Par  1'ordonnance  Clementine, 
M'a  fait  present  de  1'eglantine, 
Me  reservant  encore  mieux. 


He  eulogizes  Toulouse : 

II  n'y  a  lieu  qui  tant  m'agree 
Ou  mon  esprit  plus  se  recree, 


65  Dumege  thinks  Lafaille  is  mistaken  because  the  visit  of  cardinal  d'Armag- 
nac is  not  mentioned  in  the  Livre  Rouge.  A  study  of  the  Lvure  Rouge  shows 
that  the  secretaries  gave  no  attention  in  their  records  to  visitors  or  to  the 
audience  at  the  annual  meetings.  One  could  scarcely  infer  from  its  pages  that 
the  contests  were  held  before  the  public,  or  that  any  one  was  ever  present 
other  than  the  officers  and  contestants. 


5o  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Contemplant  les  dons  planteureux, 
L'excellente  beaute  des  f  emmes, 
Sans  deshonneur  et  sans  diffames. 
Qui  s'en  approche  est  tres  heureux. 

In  a  series  of  odes,  Poey  celebrates  the  beauties  of  his  native 
Beam  and  the  rushing,  tumbling  mountain  torrent,  the  Gave  de  Pau. 
The  first  ode  begins  as  follows : 

Descends,  ma  Muse,  du  ciel, 
Laisse  pour  un  peu  la  trouppe 
Pour  m'instiler  de  ton  miel 
Et  du  nectar  en  ma  couppe. 

Ou  envoye  moy  ton  ange 
Qui  me  conduise  en  allant 
Haut,  pour  chanter  la  louange 
Du  Gave  des  monts  coulant. 

Je  voy  descend  re  ton  ame 
Et  sens  en  moy  la  douceur. 
Peu  a  peu  mon  coeur  s'enflame 
D'une  amiable  fureur. 

Des  Nymphes  j'entends  la  voix 
Qui  des  chappeaux  me  fagonnent. 
Je  fourvoye  par  les  bois 
Et  d'un  doux  accord  me  sonnent. 

Colletet  gives  grudging  praise  to  Poey's  Ode  du  Gave : 

"  Et  ensuitte  il  loue  selon  son  genie  ce  beau  fleuve  de  son  pays  natal, 
et  quoique  ses  vers  ne  soient  pas  ny  fort  beau  ny  fort  esclattans  si 
est-ce  qu'il  a  peu  se  vanter  d'avoir  este  un  des  premiers  qui  nous  a 
donne  des  odes  en  nostre  langue  .  .  . " : 

"  Gave,  de  source  argentine, 
De  tout  le  pays  1'honneur, 
Qui  par  ton  eaue  cristaline 
Sur  tous  fleuves  es  seigneur, 

Gave,  flottant  doucement, 
Ayme  des  Muses  pignees, 
Qui  preus  cours  heureusement 
Des  montagnes  Pyrenees, 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  51 


Gave,  que  Beam  passant, 
Qui  arrouses  le  vignoble, 
Plus  que  voirre  reluisant, 
Tu  es  fameux  et  tres  noble. 


Des  biens  portes  a  foison. 
Tu  nourris  truittes  dorees, 
Parmy  tant  de  beau  poisson, 
Et  lamproyes  coulourees, 

Le  saumon  resplendissant 
Plus  que  pierre  precieuse 
Quand  le  soleil  est  luisant 
Bondit  sur  1'onde  amoureuse. 

Plus  fertile  es  que  le  Tage 
Plus  que  le  Nil  planteureux. 
Qui  pres  a  son  heritage, 
Celuy  n'est-il  done  heureux  ?  " 

Compare  with  the  above  the  first  strophe  of  the  chant  royal  par 
allegoric,  du  mistere  de  I'unite  et  trinite  divine,  for  which  Bernard 
de  Poey  had  been  awarded  the  Eglantine: 

"  En  ung  verger  auquel  nature  humaine 
N'a  point  acces  sans  contemplation, 
Je  fut  ravy,  duquel  en  rude  vayne 
Veulx  reciter  quelque  description.    . 
Moyse  fut  sur  tous  elloquent  maistre, 
En  descrivant  le  Paradis  terrestre ; 
Homere  escript  par  grand  dexterite 
D'aulcuns  vergiers  la  belle  amenite ; 
Mais  on  n'a  veu,  en  ce  terrestre  estaige, 
Vergier  ou  soit  a  perpetuite 
L'arbre  charge  de  fleurs,  fruict  et  rantage." 

In  1553  Poey  was  awarded  the  Marigold.  The  first  strophe  of 
his  poem  runs  as  follows : 

"  Les  Cieulx  estoient  par  cinq  cercles  haulsez 
Ja  commengoit  la  chaleur  vehemente 


$2  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

A  descouvrir  les  monts  et  boys  mussez 
En  esclairant  ceste  terre  pesante. 
Les  quatre  ventz  habitoient  pres  des  cieulx : 
L'Eure,  Zephire  et  Auster  pluvieux, 
Et  Boreas  tremblant,  plein  de  nuysance, 
Ayant  choisy  chacun  sa  demourance. 
L'eau  arrousoit  la  semence  terrestre 
Des  animaulx  nourrissant  1'affluance, 
Le  petit  monde  estant  encor  a  naistre." 

While  the  poem  as  a  whole  is  an  abstract  and  conventional  con- 
ception, and  of  little  interest,  the  poet  succeeded  better  with  his 
second  strophe  than  was  usual  for  the  poets  in  treating  philosophical 
and  scientific  subjects: 

"  Six  jours  avoit  le  soleil  compassez, 
La  lune  es  nuictz,  d'humeur  estoit  coullante, 
Ayant  les  cieux  ja  six  foys  repassez, 
Rendoient  la  terre  aux  bestes  verdoyantes, 
Le  mouvement  des  cieulx  mellodieux 
Declairoit  1'ceuvre  estoc  delicieux. 
O  faict  divin  d'esternelle  substance, 
Du  monde  rond  digne  circonference, 
Laquelle  a  pris  divinement  son  aistre, 
Pour  les  vivans  certaine  residence, 
Le  petit  monde  estant  encor  a  naistre." 

In  1560,  Bernard  de  Poey  won  the  Violet,  and  since  he  had  now 
won  all  three  of  the  prizes  offered  by  the  Floral  Games,  he  passed 
to  the  stage  of  Master.  The  first  two  strophes  of  his  poem  are  as 
follows : 

Le  tout  etoit  en  tout  et  le  tout  amasse 

N 'etoit  qu'un  lourd  monceau,  un  gros  monceau  estrange 

Sans  forme  et  sans  beaulte,  nullement  compasse. 

Le  ciel,  la  terre  et  1'eau,  ce  n'estoit  que  meslange 

Le  soleil  ne  donoit  a  la  terre  challeur 

Le  ciel  bigarre  ne  monstroit  sa  coulleur, 

Les  estoilles  au  ciel  que  nous  voyons  errantes 

Les  estoilles  des  cieulx  au  monde  estincellantes 

N'avoyent  assubiecte  la  terre  a  leurs  effaictz 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  53 

Pour  que  Demagorgon  des  causes  transparantes 
Le  tout  de  tous  produict  seul  parfaict  des  parfaicts. 

Le  ciel  tout  a  la  f  ois  la  terre  a  surpasse, 

Des  corps  luisans,  le  corps  qui  quatre  f  ois  se  change 

A  tout  cest  unyvers  a  la  f  ois  repasse 

Et  faict  en  lumyners  ung  immortel  eschange. 

Tout  a  la  f  ois  des  corps  le  discord  et  rigueur 

Se  sont  contrechanges  en  accord  et  douceur. 

La  mer  a  retire  ses  trasses  ondoiantes, 

La  terre  aussi  ses  fleurs  et  simes  verdoyants, 

La  terre  s'est  rendue  immobile  en  son  sain, 

De  son  sain  la  semence  et  le  f  onct  de  ses  antes  (  ?) 

Le  tout  de  tous  produict  seul  parfaict  des  parfaicts.90 

DU   BARTAS   AND    GARNIER. 

Bernard  de  Poey  and  the  poets  of  Toulouse  from  1550  to  1565 
were  the  precursors  of  the  greatest  figure  produced  by  the  Floral 
Games  in  the  period  of  the  Renaissance,  Guillaume  Saluste,  sieur  du 
Bartas,  who  was  awarded  the  Violet  in  1565. 

Du  Bartas  was  born  in  1544  at  the  ancestral  castle  at  Montfort, 
in  Gascony.  He  became  a  student  of  law  at  Toulouse,  and  it  was 
while  there  that  he  won  his  prize  in  the  Floral  Games,  and 
that,  at  the  request  of  Margaret  of  Navarre,  he  composed  his  first 
longer  work  on  a  Biblical  subject,  Judith,  an  epic  with  appeared  in 
a  volume  entitled  La  Muse  chretienne  (Bordeaux,  I573).67  This 
was  followed  five  years  later  by  his  principal  work,  La  Semaine,  an 
epic  on  the  creation  of  the  world.  He  was  employed  by  Henry  IV 
of  France  on  various  missions  to  England,  Scotland  and  Denmark, 
and  commanded  a  troop  of  horse  in  Gascony  under  Marshal  Mar- 
tignan.  He  was  a  strong  Huguenot,  fought  at  the  battle  of  Ivry, 
was  wounded,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  his  wounds  some  time 
between  1590  and  1592.  As  a  writer,  he  was  the  idol  of  the 

66  Note  that  this  poem  is  written  in  Alexandrins.     The  Alexandrin  had 
been  introduced  in  1556. 

67  Tilley  (The  Literature  of  the  French  Renaissance)  says  that  Judith  was 
written  in  1565,  the  year  in  which  Du  Bartas  was  a  contestant  in  the  Floral 
Games.    Did  the  request  of  Margaret  of  Navarre  come  as  a  result  of  his  suc- 
cess in  the  contest?     Perhaps  Judith  was  written  at  Toulouse. 


54 


Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 


Protestants,  who  put  him  on  a  level  with  Ronsard ;  and  it  is  said  that 
La  Setnaine  passed  through  more  than  thirty  editions  in  six  years. 
The  religious  tone  of  the  work  made  it  a  great  favorite  in  England, 
where  the  author  was  called  "  the  divine  Du  Bartas."  To  his  trans- 
lation of  Du  Bellay's  Antiquites  de  Rome,  Edmund  Spenser  added 
a  sonnet  of  praise  in  which  he  coupled  the  name  of  Du  Bartas  with 
that  of  Du  Bellay.  Ben  Jonson  spoke  flatteringly  of  him,  and 
James  VI  of  Scotland  tried  his  "  prentice  hand  "  at  translating  his 
poem  Uranie,  which  compliment  Du  Bartas  returned  by  translating 
the  king's  poem  on  the  battle  of  Lepanto  into  French.  In  1 584,  he 
began  the  publication  of  the  Seconde  Semaine.  His  aim  in  continu- 
ing his  earlier  effort  was  to  create  a  great  epic  which  should  stretch 
from  the  story  of  the  creation  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  The 
work  was  never  completely  executed.  In  addition  to  his  religious 
poems,  Du  Bartas  composed  Les  Neuf  Muses  Pyreneennes,  which 
were  of  a  profane  character,  and  also  wrote  poetry  in  the  Gascon 
dialect.  Before  his  death  he  composed  a  poem  on  the  battle  of  Ivry. 
Du  Bartas's  experience  at  Toulouse  and  his  Huguenot  environ- 
ment caused  him  to  extend  his  sympathy  to  the  literature  of  the 
Bible  as  well  as  to  those  of  Greece  and  Rome.  His  fame  as  a 
religious  poet  extended  to  many  lands.  In  England,  Joshua  Syl- 
vester acquired  a  literary  reputation  for  his  version  of  the  Semaine, 
which  became  one  of  the  great  literary  models  of  the  Puritans. 
Milton  was  probably  indebted  to  him  for  his  conception  of  Paradise 
Lost,  as  well  as  for  various  passages  contained  in  it.  Abraham 
Cowley  drew  from  him  for  his  epic  Davideis,  and  the  early  Ameri- 
can poet,  Mrs.  Ann  Bradstreet  ("  tenth  Muse  "),  was  known  as  the 
"  Du  Bartas  maid."  In  Italy  Tasso  imitated  him  in  his  Sette  gior- 
nate  del  mondo  creato,  and  in  Germany,  Goethe  was  attracted  by 
him,  considering  him  a  great  master ;  he  was  especially  struck  by  the 
passage  where  God  cast  his  eye  over  his  completed  task : 

"  Ici  la  pastorelle,  a  trauers  vne  plaine, 
A  1'ombre,  d'vn  pas  lent,  son  gras  troupeau  rameine ; 
Cheminant,  elle  file,  et,  a  voir  sa  fac.on, 
On  diroit  qu'elle  entonne  vne  douce  chanson." 

In  spite  of  his  universal  popularity,  the  works  of  Du  Bartas  soon 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  55 

fell  into  an  oblivion  in  France  from  which  they  have  never  re- 
covered. For  three  hundred  years  there  has  been  no  complete  edi- 
tion of  his  works  published.  One  poet  alone  in  modern  times  has 
been  influenced  by  him,  Heredia  (himself  half  foreign),  who  took 
from  an  episode  in  Du  Bartas'  chief  poem  the  title  of  his  Trophees™ 
There  were  both  external  and  internal  reasons  for  the  fall  of  Du 
Bartas  in  France.  In  the  first  place,  he  was  fully  identified  with 
the  Huguenot  cause,  and  his  writings  became  a  center  of  conflict 
between  the  opposing  religious  and  political  factions.  The  Protes- 
tants set  him  over  against  Ronsard,  the  Catholic  poet  of  the  court. 
When  the  Catholics  gained  the  ascendancy  in  France,  Du  Bartas 
suffered  the  fate  of  the  defeated  Huguenots.  In  the  second  place, 
his  works  have  failed  to  interest  Frenchmen  of  subsequent  genera- 
tions. This  is  due  partly  to  the  manner  in  which  the  author  intro- 
duced into  his  works  the  ill-digested  ideas  of  the  Renaissance,  partly 
to  the  lack  of  a  close  unity  and  well  defined  thread  of  action,  partly 
to  the  language,  which  lacks  for  the  most  part  the  smoothness  and 
beauty  of  works  produced  in  the  seventeenth  century.  A  compari- 
son of  the  Semaine  with  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  will  show  clearly 
why  Du  Bartas  has  failed  to  have  the  lasting  popularity  enjoyed  by 
Milton  in  the  English-speaking  world.  Milton  was  fortunate  in 
living  in  the  next  generation  when  the  ideas  of  the  Renaissance 
had  assumed  definite  form  and  the  language  in  both  France  and  Eng- 
land was  tending  toward  perfection.  To  Du  Bartas  is  due  the  credit 
of  a  lofty  conception  of  a  Christian  epic,  and  to  Milton  the  per- 
fecting of  it.  Milton's  relation  to  Du  Bartas  is  somewhat  analogous 
to  that  of  Racine  as  the  follower  and  perfecter  of  Corneille. 

In  the  choice  of  his  theme,  in  his  fondness  for  introducing  all 
sorts  of  ideas,  such  as  theology,  mythology,  history,  metaphysics, 
mathematics,  medicine,  and  the  occult  and  natural  sciences — as- 
trology, astronomy,  alchemy,  physics,  chemistry,  Du  Bartas  is  a 
typical  poet  of  the  Floral  Games.  The  only  difference  between  him 
and  his  companion  poets  was  that  what  they  attempted  on  a  small 
scale,  he  tried  to  do  on  a  colossal  one.  The  mystery  of  the  creation 
and  the  beginning  of  the  world  haunted  the  young  poets  of  the 
Floral  Games.  A  study  of  the  Livre  Rouge  from  1550  to  1565,  the 

68  Wright,  Hist,  of  Fr.  Lit.,  p.  226. 


56  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

year  in  which  Du  Bartas  won  a  prize,  is  convincing  proof  that  he  is 
a  natural  product  of  the  Floral  Games.  The  opening  lines  of  a  few 
of  the  chants  royaux  of  this  period  are  a  good  illustration  of  what 
the  poets  at  Toulouse  considered  the  chief  themes  of  poetic  inspira- 
tion: 

"  L'eternite,  infinie  mesure 
N'ayant  milieu,  fin  ni  commencement 
Faict  1'Univers;  1'Univers  se  mesure 
Du  temps  qui  cause  altere  changement." 

Jehan  de  Flavyn,  1550. 

"  Le  seul  mouvant  Tung  et  1'autre  hemysphere 
Et  qui  ne  prend  que  de  soy  mouvement, 
Mouvant  de  soy  la  rondeur  de  1'esphere, 
L'ung  cercle  esmeut  1'autre  divinement." 

Anthoine  Noguierys,  1550. 

"  La  cause  seulle,  en  soy  indivisible, 
Tout  produisant  de  son  mesme  pouvoir, 
Estre  ne  peult  de  son  oeuvre  sensible, 
Comprinse  en  rien,  pour  son  estre  et  sgavoir." 
Guillaume  Cay  ret,  1552. 

"  Des  grands  accordz  du  monde  et  de  nature 
Fut  procree  Lycaon  discordant, 
Tant  que  change  de  perverse  nature 
Pour  perir  tout  par  tout  va  regardant." 

Deucalion  qui  restaura  le  monde." 

Jehan  Carles,  1552. 

"  Les  cieulx  estoient  par  cinq  cercles  haulsez 
Ja  commengoit  la  chaleur  vehemente 
A  descouvrir  les  monts  et  boys  mussez 
En  esclairant  ceste  terre  pesante." 

Bernard  Podius  (Poey),  1552. 

"  Lorsque  ce  monde  en  son  centre  requis, 
Monde  parfaict,  vray  pourtraict  de  nature, 
Brusloit  en  flamme,  a  grands  tourmentz  soubmis, 
Ne  produisant  qu'inf  aicte  pourriture,  ..." 
Jehan  de  Barot,  1554. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  57 

"  Quand  1'embrouille  cahos  on  desmella, 
Et  que  le  feu  se  separa  de  1'onde, 
Voire  la  terre  a  1'air  ne  rebella, 
Une  clairte  embellit  tout  le  monde." 

.  .  .  Dubuys,  1555. 

"  La  terre  lorde  preit  sa  place  et  residance, 
Au  plus  loing  des  haultz  cieulx  la  vagabonde  mer 
A  Tentour  de  la  terre  esleut  sa  demeurance, 
Et  1'air  jusqu'an  plus  hault  se  voulut  sublimer,  .  .  ." 
Pierre  Garros,  1557. 

"  Cest  ouvrier  excellent  pensoit  en  son  ouvraige 
De  se  rendre  a  jamais  par  ses  faictz  admirable; 
Essaiant  d'assopir  le  descord  et  la  rage 
Qui  regnoit  au  chaos  lordement  detestable,  ..." 
Sanxon  de  Lacroix,  1558. 

"L'ouvrier  celeste  ayant  soing  d'esgaller 
Au  plus  parfaict  de  son  myeulx  ung  ouvrage 
Que  sien  il  peult  hardiment  appeller, 
Forma  ung  corps  pourtant  de  son  imaige  ..." 
J.  de  Cardonne,  1558. 

"  Par  dela  ce  grand  rond  qui  la  terre  enyronne, 
De  tous  solides  corps,  estant  le  plus  parfaict, 
Celluy  qui  le  regit  qui  1'anime  et  luy  donne  ..." 

Guillaume  de  Lagrange,  1559. 

"  On  a  dit  vaynement  que  ceste  masse  ronde 
Son  commencement  print  lors  que  la  paix  eust  faict 
Separer  1'air,  le  feu,  de  la  terre  et  de  1'onde 
N'estant  qu'ung  lourd  cahos,  difforme  et  contrefaict." 
Anthoine  de  Tinturier,  1560. 

"  Le  tout  etoit  en  tout  et  le  tout  amasse 
N'etoit  qu'un  lourd  monceau,  un  gros  monceau  estrange 
Sans  forme  et  sans  beaulte,  nullement  compasse 
Le  ciel,  la  terre  et  1'eau,  ce  n'estoit  que  meslange  ..." 
Bernard  de  Poey,  1560. 

"  Je  viz  en  ung  epaiz  de  mon  entendement 
L'edifice  immortel  de  la  divine  essence." 

Denys  Bouthillier,  1562. 


jg  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

"  Lc  monde  charpente  etoit  obscur  encore 
Et  encore  la  nuict  ombrageoit  1'univers,  ..." 
J.  Cardonne,  1564. 

"  Quant  ce  qui  est  enclos  dessoubz  la  voute  insigne 
Du  ciel  qui  va  bornant  le  monde  spacieux 
Eust  receu  sa  premiere  et  parfaicte  origine  ..." 
Rodolphe  Gay,  1565. 

These  astronomic  citations  remain  inferior  to  the  splendid  pas- 
sage of  Rotrou  (Saint-Genest,  Act  ii,  Sc.  2)  : 

"  J'ose  a  present,  6  Ciel,  d'une  vue  assuree, 
Contempler  les  brillants  de  ta  voute  azuree, 
Et  nier  ces  faux  dieux,  qui  n'ont  jamais  foule 
De  ce  palais  roulant  le  lambris  etoile." 

In  1564,  Du  Bartas  entered  the  contest  of  the  Floral  Games. 
The  impromptu  trial  called  the  Essay  was  imposed  upon  several  of 
the  candidates  for  one  of  the  prizes.  Among  them  were  Guillaume 
Saluste  (Du  Bartas)  and  Robert  Gamier.  The  prize  was  awarded 
to  Gamier.  Robert  Gamier  studied  law  at  Toulouse.  He  won  the 
Violet  in  1564,  and  the  Eglantine  in  1566.  He  also  composed  poems 
in  honor  of  the  entry  of  Charles  IX  into  Toulouse  in  1565.  While 
at  Toulouse  he  published  a  volume  of  poetry  entitled  Plaintes 
atnoureuses.  He  was  destined  to  occupy  a  lasting  place  in  the  history 
of  French  literature,  and  had  an  important  hand  in  shaping  the 
direction  of  French  drama.  His  most  important  dramas  were  Les 
Juives  and  Bradamante,  the  first  French  tragi-comedy. 

In  the  next  year,  1565,  Du  Bartas  won  the  Violet  for  the  follow- 
ing chant  royal  :89 

"  Le  nocher  basane  qui  de  1'onde  azuree 
A  force  d'avirons  fend  le  doz  ecumeuz 
Ung  seul  moment  de  temps  n'a  la  vue  assuree 
Car  oultre  la  fureur  des  aquilons  emeuz 
Centre  le  dard  murdrier  du  foudroiant  oraige, 
Oultre  le  traistre  abord  d'un  sabloneux  rivaige, 
Oultre  mile  rochers,  mil  goufres  tournoians 
Et  mil  escueils  caiches  soubz  les  flotz  aboians, 

••  Livre  Rouge,  vol.  I,  f .  200.    Hitherto  unpublished. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  59 

II  fault  qu'a  tous  propoz  saigement  il  evite, 
Pour  trasser  sans  peril  les  sillons  ondoians, 
La  voix  plongeant  les  naus  dans  le  sein  d'Amphitrite. 

Car  ez  lieux  plus  frequens  de  1'humide  contree 

Les  filles  d'Achelous,  cest  Achelous  fameuz 

Qui  du  Pinde  roulant  tient  1'Actolle  emincee 

Entre  les  deux  canalz  de  ses  flotz  limoneuz, 

Tachent  des  navigans  enchainer  le  couraige, 

Avec  1'atraict  minhard  de  leur  serain  visaige, 

Et  avec  leurs  chanssons  dont  les  trompeurs  accens 

Surpassent  en  doulceur  les  soupirs  languissans 

De  1'oiseau  d'Apollon  quant  la  mort  le  visite, 

Si  qu'on  fuyt  rarement  comme  hamegons  nuisans 

La  voix  plongeant  les  naux  dans  le  sein  d'Amphitrite. 

D'aultant  qu'oultre  leur  voix  d'un  doux  sucre  comblee 

Et  leur  bel  embonpoinct  qui  tenteroit  les  dieux 

Toutes  trois  ont  encor  parole  emmiellee 

Qui  charme  les  espritz  des  passans  curieux, 

Leur  promettant  cent  fois  d'un  affecte  langaige 

Bienheurer  de  plaisir  le  reste  de  leur  aige, 

Libre  de  tous  soulciz  et  chagrins  des  plaisans, 

Mesmes  de  leurs  beautes  les  rendre  jouyssans 

S'ilz  ancrent  a  ce  bord  ou  personne  n'habite 

Que  les  nimphes  des  eaux  et  les  tritons  oians 

La  voix  plongeant  les  naux  dans  le  sein  d'Amphitrite. 

Adonq  les  mariniers  oians  Tame  emuree 

De  leurs  traitres  appas  et  chantz  melodieux 

Singlent  d'un  roide  bras  leurs  barques  calfutrees 

Pour  aborder  bien  tost  un  lieu  delicieux 

Ou  les  trompeuses  seurs  degoisent  leur  ramaige, 

Dessus  les  pasles  eaulx  monstrent  leur  blanc  corsaige, 

Touteffois  sur  le  poinct  qu'ilz  s'estiment  contentz, 

Voissi  soubdain  1'assault  des  gros  flots  floflotans 

Qui  dans  le  ventre  creuz  d'un  goufre  precipite 

Les  pouvres  nautoniers  a  bon  droict  maugreantz 

La  voix  plongeant  les  naux  dans  le  sein  d'Amphitrite. 

Mais  ceulx  f  ollement  n'ont  leur  vie  occupee 
Apres  le  vain  plaisir  d'un  chant  si  dangereux, 


60  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Aingois  bien  adiustes  ont  1'oreille  estoupee, 

Pour  n'ouir  des  trois  seurs  les  propoz  doulcereuz 

Ymitans  les  soldatz  et  ceste  Ulisse  saige, 

Qui  nonobstant  1'effort  de  mainct  et  mainct  naufraige 

Le  palais  de  Neptune  a  frequente  dix  ans, 

Conduiront  sans  peril  leurs  gallons  glissans 

Combien  que  1'Ocean  encontre  iceulx  s'irrite, 

Car  couvers  de  vertu,  ils  seront  desprisans 

La  voix  plongeant  les  naux  dans  le  sein  d'Amphitrite." 

Allegoric. 

"  Les  hommes  aveugles  qui  durant  le  voiaige 
De  ceste  frelle  vie  elisant  le  servaige 
Des  sales  voluptes  sont  en  fin  perissans, 
Mais  ceulx  qui  captivans  1'appetit  de  leurs  sens 
Rec.oivent  la  raison  pour  leur  seure  conduicte, 
Sont  toujours  bien  heureux,  justement  haissans 
La  voix  plongeant  les  naux  dans  le  sein  d'Amphitrite." 

In  the  phrase  flots  floflotans  began  an  imitation  of  the  eccen- 
tricities of  the  Pleiade  which  Du  Bartas  carried  to  excess  in  his 
works,  and  which  later  not  only  served  to  aid  in  discrediting  them, 
but  the  Ronsardist  tradition  as  well.  Examples  of  his  tendency  to 
exaggeration  of  language  which  have  been  frequently  quoted,  are 
his  descriptions  of  the  horse  and  of  the  lark : 

"  Le  champ  plat  bat,  abat,  destrape,  grape,  atrape 
Le  vent  qui  va  devant." 

"  La  gentile  alouete  avec  son  tire-lire 
Tire  Tire  aux  faschez:  et  d'une  tire  tire 
Vers  le  pole  brillant." 

La  Semaine  contains  passages  which  are  evidence  of  true  genius 
on  the  part  of  the  author,  but  the  work  as  a  whole  is  uneven,  and 
the  inspiration  is  not  sustained.  The  following  reminds  one  of  the 
passage  which  Shakespeare  was  to  write  later: 

"  Le  monde  est  un  theatre,  ou  de  Dieu  la  puissance, 
La  iustice,  1'amour,  le  sgavoir,  la  prudence, 
louent  leur  personnage,  et  comme  a  qui  mieux  mieux 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  61 

Les  esprits  plus  pesans  rauissent  sur  les  cieux. 

Le  monde  est  vn  grand  livre,  ou  du  Souuerain  maistre 

L'admirable  artifice  on  lit  en  grosse  lettre. 

Chasque  ceuure  est  une  page,  et  chasque  sien  effect 

Est  un  beau  charactere  en  tous  ses  traits  parfaict." 

The  poet's  fondness  for  simile  is  again  expressed  in  the  follow- 
ing passage,  which  contains  some  lines  which  are  not  lacking  in 
grace  and  beauty: 

" .  .  .  ,  ainsi  que  fait  le  maistre 
D'un  bastiment  royal,  qui  plus  tost  que  de  mettre 
La  main  a  la  besongne,  eslit  vn  bastiment, 
Ou  la  richesse  &  Tart  luisent  esgalement. 
Et  ne  pouuant  trouuer  en  vn  seul  edifice 
Toutes  beautez  en  bloc,  il  prend  le  f  rontispice 
De  ce  palais  ici,  d'vn  autre  les  piliers, 
D'vn  autre  la  fac.on  des  riches  escaliers: 
Et  choisissant  par  tout  les  choses  les  plus  belles, 
Fait  vn  seul  bastiment  dessus  trente  modelles : 
Ains  n'ayant  rien  qu'vn  Rien  pour  dessus  lui  mouler 
Vn  chef-d'ceuure  si  beau,  TEternel  sans  aller 
Rauasser  longuement,  sans  tressuer  de  peine, 
Fit  1'air,  le  ciel,  la  terre,  &  1'ondoyante  plaine : 
Ainsi  que  le  Soleil,  qui,  sans  bouger  des  cieux, 
Couronne  de  bouquets  le  Printemps  gracieux : 
Engrosse  sans  trauail  nostre  mere  f  econde, 
Et,  lointain  raieunit  le  visage  du  monde." 

The  traditional  influence  of  the  Roman  de  la  Rose  handed  down 
by  the  Rhetoricians  is  to  be  seen  in  such  lines  as : 

"  Chasse-ennuy,  chasse-dueil,  chasse-nuict,  chasse-craincte." 

As  for  Du  Bartas,  he  successfully  imitated  at  times  the  manner 
of  the  Pleiade: 

"  lamais  le  gai  Printemps  a  mes  yeux  ne  propose 
L'azur  du  lin  fleuri,  1'incarnat  de  la  rose, 
Le  pourpre  rougissant  de  1'oeillet  a  maints  plis, 
Le  fin  or  de  Clytie,  &  la  neige  du  lis, 
Que  ie  n'admire  en  eux  le  peintre  qui  colore 


62  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Les  champs  de  plus  de  teints  que  le  front  de  1'Aurore, 

Ains,  semblable  a  la  fleur  du  lin  qui  naist  et  tombe 
Tout  en  vn  mesme  iour,  son  bers  seroit  sa  tombe, 
Son  printemps  son  hyuer,  sa  naissance  sa  mort." 

Du  Bartas'  apostrophe  to  Night  is  not  very  different  from  simi- 
lar ones  of  Shakespeare: 

"  L'architecte  du  monde  ordonna  qu'a  leur  tour 
Le  iour  suiuist  la  nuict,  la  nuict  suiuist  le  jour. 
La  nuict  peut  temperer  du  iour  la  secheresse, 
Humecte  nostre  ceil,  &  nos  guerets  engresse. 
La  nuict  est  celle  la  qui  charme  nos  trauaux, 
Enseuelit  nos  soins,  donne  trefue  a  nos  maux. 
La  nuict  est  celle-la  qui  de  ses  ailes  sombres 
Sur  le  monde  muet  fait  auecques  les  ombres 
Degouter  le  silence,  &  couler  dans  les  os 
Des  recreus  animaux  vn  sommeilleux  repos. 
O  douce  Nuict,  sans  toi,  sans  toi  1'humaine  vie, 
Ne  seroit  qu'un  enfer,  ou  le  chagrin,  1'enuie, 
La  peine,  1'auarice,  &  cent  fagons  de  morts 
Sans  fin  bourrelleroyent  &  nos  coeurs  &  nos  corps. 
O  Nuict,  tu  vas  ostant  le  masque  &  la  f  eintise, 
Dont  sur  1'humain  theatre  en  vain  on  se  desguise 
Tandis  que  le  iour  luit,  6  Nuict  alme  par  toy 
Sont  faits  de  tout  esgaux  le  bouuier  et  le  Roy, 
Le  pauure  et  1'opulent,  le  Grec  et  le  Barbare, 
Le  iuge  &  1'accuse,  le  sc.auuant  &  1'ignare, 
Le  maistre  et  le  valet,  le  difforme  et  le  beau : 
Car,  Nuict,  tu  couures  tout  de  ton  obscur  manteau." 

The  following,  composed  in  a  manner  dear  to  Du  Bartas,  recall 
some  of  the  lines  of  the  poem  of  Bernard  de  Poey,  given  above : 

La  terre  estoit  au  ciel,  &  le  ciel  en  la  terre. 
La  terre,  1'air,  le  feu  se  tenoyent  dans  la  mer. 

In  spite  of  many  striking  passages  and  beautiful  lines,  La 
Semaine  is  tedious  to  read.  In  the  vastness  of  his  conception  and 
the  universality  of  the  learning  he  displays,  Du  Bartas  may  be  com- 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  63 

pared  with  Rabelais.  He  failed  to  execute  well  his  conception,  and 
in  his  language  suffered  the  same  malady  that  was  common  to  the 
poets  of  the  Floral  Games.  Du  Bartas  was  a  Gascon,  and  never 
fully  mastered  the  possibilities  of  the  French  language.  When  he 
sought  to  imitate  the  language  of  the  Pleiade,  he  was  unable  to  use 
proper  discrimination,  frequently  falling  into  the  worst  faults  of 
his  models,  and  surpassing  them  in  the  exaggeration  of  their  de- 
fects. Had  he  lived  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
when  the  ideas  of  the  Renaissance  had  become  clarified  and  the 
language  perfected,  he  would  no  doubt  have  produced  a  lasting 
masterpiece. 

Guillaume  Saluste,  sieur  Du  Bartas,  Pierre  de  Brach,  of  Bor- 
deau,  and  Pierre  Dampmartin,  of  Toulouse,  who  were  fellow  stu- 
dents in  the  study  of  law,  were  close  personal  friends,  and  all  three 
courted  the  Muse  in  their  leisure  hours.  The  last  two  were  winners 
in  the  contest  of  1567,  Dampmartin  obtaining  the  Violet,  and  Brach 
the  Eglantine.  Like  Du  Bartas,  they  both  show  the  influence  of  the 
Pleiade  in  their  language.  The  following  line  is  from  Dampmartin : 

" Restoit  encores  Mars,  ce  brave  porte-lance" 
and  these  from  Brach: 

"  Empruntant  d'Apollon  la  douxcullante  haleine." 
"  Transmis  du  darde-foudre  en  ceste  terre  basse." 

PIERRE  DE  BRACH. 

Pierre  de  Brach70  was  born  at  Bordeaux  in  1547.  From  a 
reference  in  his  Hymne  de  Bordeaux,  it  is  quite  probable  that  he 
received  his  earlier  training  in  the  famous  college  of  Guyenne.  He 
studied  law  at  Toulouse,  and  it  was  while  there  that  he  became  in- 
terested in  poetry.  He  returned  to  his  native  Bordeaux,  where  he 
became  a  lawyer  in  the  parlement.  The  interest  in  poetry  which 

70Reinhold  Dezeimeris,  editor  of  the  works  of  Pierre  de  Brach  ((Euvres, 
vol.  ii,  p.  298),  gives  the  following  footnote  on  a  sonnet  written  on  the  poet  by 
Etienne  Pasquier: 

"II  est  a  remarquer  que  Pasquier,  dans  ses  (Euvres,  ecrit:  BRASCH,  ce 
qui  nous  indique  la  prononciation  du  temps,  laquelle  s'est  conservee  dans  la 
famille." 


64  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

had  begun  at  Toulouse  was  continued,  and  Brach  became  one  of 
the  most  skillful  imitators  of  the  Pleiade,  first  of  Du  Bellay  and 
Ronsard,  and  later  of  Desportes.  By  studying  his  models,  he  was 
able  to  acquire  a  rare  polish  and  finish  in  his  language.  His  first 
volume  of  poems  appeared  in  1576  from  the  press  of  Simon  Mil- 
langes,  who  had  just  set  up  the  first  printing  press  in  Bordeaux,  and 
who  was  destined  to  become  the  publisher  of  the  Essays  of  Mon- 
taigne. His  second  volume  was  composed  of  imitations  of  Tasso 
and  Ariosto,  appearing  in  1584,  from  the  press  of  Millanges.  His 
third  volume  was  a  translation  of  four  cantos71  of  Tasso's  Jerusa- 
lem Delivered,  which  appeared  from  the  press  of  Abel  L'Angelier 
at  Paris  in  1596.  He  spent  a  pleasant  life  and  counted  among  his 
many  friends,  Montaigne,  Du  Bartas,  Florimond  Remond,  and 
Juste  Lipse.  He  was  a  liberal  Catholic  in  his  views,  and  his  atti- 
tude toward  the  religious  agitations  of  his  time  was  not  unlike  that 
of  his  friend  Montaigne.  Du  Bartas,  the  Huguenot  champion,  and 
Florimond  Remond,  the  fire-eating  Catholic,  were  equally  dear  to 
him.  It  was  no  doubt  this  evenness  of  temperament  which  pre- 
vented him  from  instilling  into  his  verses  that  quality  of  divine  fire 
essential  to  immortality.  Though  only  a  follower,  he  was  an  ele- 
gant poet  and  deserved  to  be  better  remembered  by  posterity.  He 
is  at  his  best  in  the  hymn  to  Bordeaux  and  the  Voyage  en  Gascogne. 
The  latter  is  a  light  letter  in  verse,  of  which  there  is  not  better  exam- 
ple in  French  literature.  Pierre  de  Brach  died  some  time  after 
1604,  according  to  the  sketch  of  him  written  by  Guillaume  Colletet 
for  his  Vies  des  Poetes  franqois.  The  life  of  Colletet  is  included 
in  the  collected  works  of  Brach  published  under  the  direction  of 
Reinhold  Dezeimeris.72 

The  works  of  Brach  as  published  under  the  direction  of  Dezei- 
meris, are  in  two  volumes,  the  first  of  which  contains  the  Amours 
d'Aymee  (in  two  books,  before  and  after  marriage),  the  Regrets 
et  Larmes  funebrcs,  upon  the  death  of  Aymee,  and  a  fourth  book, 
the  Tombeau  et  Regrets  funebrcs,  made  up  of  poems  composed  by 
friends  of  the  poet  upon  the  death  of  his  wife.  The  second  volume 
is  composed  of  four  books  of  Poemes  et  Meslanges.  The  poems 

71  Sixteenth,  fourth,  twelfth,  and  second. 

72  Two  volumes,  Paris,  Aubry,  1862. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  65 

embrace  a  variety  of  forms  common  to  the  Renaissance,  but  are 
principally  in  the  form  of  elegies,  odes  and  sonnets.  The  Amours 
d'Aymee  is  a  collection  of  elegies,  odes  and  sonnets  inspired  by 
Anne  de  Perrot,  daughter  of  the  seigneur  de  Crognac,  who  lived 
near  Bordeaux.  Under  the  inspiration  of  an  ardent  passion,  the 
poet  began  a  series  of  poems  in  which  the  object  of  his  love  is  given 
the  name  "  Aymee."  Anne  de  Perrot  became  his  wife,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  sing  her  praises ;  like  Petrarch,  he  sang  to  his  sweetheart 
both  during  her  life  and  after  her  death.  The  most  striking  sonnet 
in  the  collection  is  the  one  on  Aymee's  mirror : 

Au  lieu  de  ce  miroer  qui  pend  a  ta  ceinture,78 

Je  veux  que  de  mes  vers  le  miroer  soit  porte, 
Miroer,  ou  vivement  ma  plume  a  raporte 
Ta  beaute,  ta  rigueur,  &  le  mal  que  j 'endure. 

Pour  t'immortaliser  j'y  fay  voir  ta  figure, 

Ta  rigueur,  pour  monstrer  quelle  est  ma  fermete, 

Mon  mal,  pour  te  blasmer  de  ceste  cruaute : 

Et  tout  va  tesmoignant  combien  ma  peine  est  dure. 

Sans  estre  enorgueillie  en  voyant  ton  portrait, 
Ma  belle,  souviens-toi  que  le  miroer  est  fait 
Pour  voir  si  quelque  tache  enlaidist  le  visage ; 

Oste  done  la  rigueur  dont  le  tien  est  tache. 

Rien  ne  peint  un  miroer  quand  1'objet  est  cache, 
Mais  le  mien  sans  objet,  paint  au  vif  ton  image. 

After  his  master  Ronsard,  Pierre  de  Brach  celebrates  the  Rose : 

Je  veux  rendre  a  jamais,  par  mes  vers,  renommee74 
La  rose  dont  Aymee  au  soir  me  fist  present, 
Apres  qu'en  ma  faveur  elle  1'eut,  en  baisant 
Un  baiser  dous-sentant,  souefvement  en-basmee. 

Dans  son  sein  cete  rose,  estroitement  fermee, 

Montroit  en  ses  replis  son  vermeil  fletrissant, 
Mais  je  vy  la  couleur  de  son  taint  fanissant, 
Se  vermeiller  aux  bords  de  la  bouche  d'Aymee. 

Ton  taint  donques,  Aymee,  a  la  rose  est  pareil  .  .  . 
Las !  non  est :  car  on  voit  soubs  un  mesme  Soleil 
La  rose  se  f  anir,  de  son  bouton  eclose : 

7»  Vol.  i,  p.  27. 
74  Vol.  i,  p.  102. 


66  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Mais  ta  beaute,  trop  belle,  embellist  tous  les  jours; 
Heureux  si  ta  beaute,  sujet  de  mes  amours, 
Nee  &  morte  en  un  jour  fust  ainsi  qu'une  rose ! 

The  poet  sings  the  death  of  his  beloved  Aymee: 

Sombre  allee,  en  lauriers  espaissemant  ombreuse,™ 

Qui  me  sers  de  carriere,  ou  je  vay  si  souvant 

Esperonne  du  deuil,  cerchant  &  ne  trouvant 

Ce  que  m'a  desrobe  la  tombe  tenebreuse, 
Ta  belle  promenade  un  temps  me  fust  heureuse, 

Quand  nos  devis  alloient  tes  feuilles  esmouvant; 

Mais  ores  que  mes  pleurs  vont  la  terre  abreuvant, 

Autant  que  tu  m'as  pleu,  je  te  trouve  ennuieuse. 
Beaus  lauriers,  je  penc.oy,  sans  ce  triste  mechef, 

Un  jour  de  vos  rameaus  voir  couronner  mon  chef ; 

Je  n'ay  plus  ce  desir,  &  meshuy  je  proteste 
Que  mon  chef  ne  sera  de  verd  environne; 

Ou,  s'il  faut  que  mon  front  soit  un  jour  couronne, 

Ce  sera  d'un  cyprez  a  la  branche  funeste. 

One  of  the  best  of  the  poems  of  Brach  is  La  Monomachie™  in 
which  he  vividly  portrays  the  combat  between  David  and  Goliath. 
The  following  is  his  portrait  of  Goliath  faring  forth  to  battle : 

Ainsi  done,  furieux,  de  colere  enflamee, 
II  sortit  de  son  camp  de  pied  en  cap  arme, 
Portant  un  morrion  enfonce  sur  sa  teste, 
Ombrage  d'un  panache  au  dessous  de  la  creste; 
Ses  deux  greves  s'armoient  de  jambieres  d'airain, 
De  cuirasse  son  dos,  d'une  lance  sa  main 
Dont  la  grandeur  sembloit  estre  expres  fac.onnee 
Pour  porter  d'une  nef  la  grand  voile  empennee. 

En  marchant  a  grands  pas  la  terre  il  arpentoit ; 
De  sa  levre  baveuse  une  escume  sortoit ; 
Une  epesse  sueur,  qui  du  chef  lui  degoute 
Par  les  rides  du  front  s'avaloit  goute  a  goute ; 
Ses  yeux  tous  enflammes  ressambloient  a  1'esclair 
Que  Jupin  fait  briller  par  le  vague  de  1'aer 

78  Tome  i,  p.  236. 
'•Tome  K,  pp.  9  ff. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  67 

Pour  estre  avant-coureur  du  bourdonnant  tonnerre, 
Que  son  bras  courrousse  de  son  trosne  desserre. 

The  fatal  blow  and  death  of  the  giant  are  pictured : 

Alors  centre  la  terre  affermissant  son  pas, 
Faisant  d'un  demi  tour  roue'r  en  1'aer  son  bras, 
II  debanda  sa  fonde  en  son  doit  arrestee, 
Au  jugement  de  1'oeil  mesurant  sa  portee, 
La  mesurant  si  bien,  que  le  caillou  jette 
Au  milieu  de  son  front  fut  droitement  porte; 
Et  la  force  du  coup  en  le  frappant  fut  telle, 
Qu'il  cercha  soubs  le  test  sa  gluante  cervelle. 

Le  sang  chaud  &  vermeil  a  gros  bouillons  saillant, 
Alloit  de  toutes  pars  son  visage  souillant, 
Coulant  a  longs  filets,  &  la  terre  alteree, 
S'abbreuvant  de  son  sang,  de  sang  fut  coloree. 

Lors,  estourdi  du  coup,  dega,  dela  tremblant, 
De  teste  &  de  genous  f  oiblement  chancelant, 
II  ressembloit  1'ivrogne  a  qui  le  pied  chancelle, 
Pour  s'estre  trop  charge  de  1'enf ant  de  Semelle ; 
Mais  apres  qu'il  se  fut  longuement  balance, 
II  tomba  de  son  long  en  terre  renverce. 
De  se  lever  debout  par  trois  fois  il  essaye, 
Par  trois  fois  il  retombe,  agrave  de  sa  playe, 
Secoiiant  le  jarret,  levant  en  haut  la  main, 
Qui,  mi-morte,  en  tremblant  se  combatoit  en  vain.          \ 

In  his  hymn  to  his  native  city,  the  poet  is  truly  inspired.  Under 
his  pen,  alternate  praise  and  description  bring  before  the  eye  of  the 
reader  in  kaleidoscopic  fashion  the  essential  qualities  and  features 
of  the  city  and  life  of  Bordeaux  :77 

"  Ores,  d'un  masle  son,  d'une  plus  forte  vois, 
Je  veux  chanter  Bourdeaux,  jadis  siege  des  rois." 

•  ••••?•••• 

"Mais  ou,  comment,  par  quoi  faut-il  que  je  commence? 
Je  me  trouve  indigent  en  ma  riche  abondance ; " 


77  Tome  ii,  pp.  63  ff. 


68  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

"  Ainsy  voit  on  souvent  la  jeune  fiancee, 
Qui  sent  d'un  chaste  amour  eschauffer  sa  pencee, 
Errer  dans  un  jardin,  pour  cueillir  de  sa  main 
Un  bouquet  bien  fleurant  a  mettre  dans  son  sein ; 
Ou  pour  a  son  ami,  le  mettant  comme  en  montre, 
Lc  faire  demander  a  leur  premier  rencontre. 
Elle  voit  le  jardin  de  fleurs  tout  diapre: 
La  1'aspic  porte-epy,  ici  roeillet  pourpre, 
La  blanchissent  les  lis,  la  vermeillent  les  roses 
Au  lever  du  matin  nouvellement  ecloses ; 
Ici  jaunit  la  fleur  qui  regarde  en  son  cours 
Le  soleil  desdaigneux  de  ses  longues  amours, 
Et  dix  mille  autres  fleurs  elle  voit  devant  elle, 
Sans  pouvoir  faire  chois  de  la  fleur  la  plus  belle ; 
Mais,  epointe  a  la  fin  d'un  mouvement  soudain, 
Elle  arrache  la  fleur  la  plus  proche  a  sa  main. 
Du  los  done  de  Bourdeaux  cueillons  la  fleur  premiere, 
Sans  choisir,  perennant  sa  saison  printaniere."78 

After  singing  of  the  antiquities  of  Bordeaux,  the  poet  turns  to 
the  modern  side,  celebrating  the  churches,  the  parlement,  etc. 

"  Bourdeaux,  si  j'ai  chante  ta  plus  vieille  memoire, 
Je  veux  chanter  le  los  de  ta  plus  jeune  gloire, 
Ces  temples,  ces  palais,  qui  en  leur  nouveaute 
Sans  mine  ont  garde  leur  premiere  beaute." 

In  concluding,  the  poet  says: 

"  Bourdeaux,  il  eust  fallu,  pour  chanter  tes  merites, 
Cent  mille  raretes  avoir  encor  descrites, 
Bourdeaux,  heureux  Bourdeaux,  duquel  toujours  mes  vers 

'•Compare  the  following  fragment  from  Du  Bartas: 

"Scais-tu  que  nous  ferons? — O  Muse,  mon  soucy, 
Mes  delices,  mon  tout!— Nous  ferons  tout  ainsi 
Que  la  pucelle  main  d'une  jeune  bergere, 
Qui  ne  va  despouillant  toute  la  prime  vere 
De  ses  peintes  beautes,  &  ne  vous  ravissant 
Un  matin  tout  1'honneur  d'un  jardin  florissant : 
Ains^  coupe,  en  ce  carreau,  une  fleur  azuree, 
En  1'autre,  une  blanchastre,  en  1'autre  une  doree. 
De  ses  cheveux  les  lie,  &,  chaste,  les  baisant, 
A  son  cher  fiance  s'en-court  faire  un  present." 

— Tome  ii,  p.  401,  ed.  1611,  (Euvres  de  Du  Bartas. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  69 

Bruiront  &  rebruiront  le  los  par  1'univers, 
Je  te  repute  heureux,  pour  ne  voir  ta  contree 
Par  un  Cancre  brulant  chaudement  alteree ; 
Heureux,  pour  ne  te  voir  assis  au  mesme  endroit 
Des  Scytes  englaces,  qui,  soubs  un  aer  trop  f  roid, 
Et  trop  loin  du  Soleil,  ont  tous jours  sur  leur  teste, 
Souffles,  neges,  glaces,  1'hiverneuse  tempeste ;  .  .  ." 

Brach's  disgust  with  the  study  of  law  at  Toulouse  is  voiced  in 
the  following  sonnet : 

Pourquoi  ne  pouvons-nous  acheter  la  science  ?™ 
Ou  pourquoi  ne  vient  elle  avec  1'heredite? 
Pourquoi  1'astre  eclairant  nostre  nativite 
Ne  la  darde  sur  nous  avec  son  influence, 

Sans  que,  pour  en  avoir  la  sage  connoissance, 

Et  le  corps  &  1'esprit  soit  tousjours  tormente, 
Souffrant  dans  un  estude  ou  le  chaud  d'un  este, 
Ou  d'un  hyver  glace  la  f roide  intemperance  ? 

L'aer  n'agueres  bouilloit  soubs  le  feu  du  soleil, 
Ores  il  est  gele  trop  lointain  de  son  ceil, 
Blutant  epessement  des  neiges  farineuses. 

Je  bruslois  lors  de  chaud ;  je  glace  ores  de  f  roid : 
Viola  les  passetemps  que  mon  esprit  rec.oit, 
Apprenant  les  accords  de  nos  lois  querelleuses. 

He  celebrates  a  sweetheart  left  behind  in  Toulouse  at  the  end 
of  his  student  days.  One  will  note  the  beauty  and  sadness  of  the 
last  three  lines: 

Ny  voir  a  mon  retour  mes  parens  contentes80 
Ny  voir  de  mes  amis  une  trouppe  cherie ; 
Ny  voir  les  champs  f  ertils  de  ma  chere  patrie 
D'ou  je  m'etoi  bani  de-ja  par  trois  estes; 

Ny  voir  en  nostre  port  mille  nouvelletes 

Qu'apporte  1'Occean  alors  qu'il  se  marie 

A  nos  fleuves  Gascons,  desquels  le  cours  varie 

Par  le  regorgement  de  ses  flots  irrites; 

"Tome  ii,  p.  194. 
80  Tome  ii,  p.  195. 


7o  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Ny  me  voir  contante  d'une  large  abondance, 

Me  voyant  estre  exempt  de  Pestroite  indigence 
Que  le  pouvre  escolier  a  tousjours  pres  de  soi: 

Je  n'ay  de  tout  cela  regeu  tant  de  Hesse, 

Que  du  seul  souvenir  de  ma  belle  maistresse, 
Qui  peut  estre  a  perdu  le  souvenir  de  moi. 

In  the  following  sonnet,  Brach  struck  a  chord  which  brings  to 
mind  Les  Facheux,  that  Moliere  was  to  write  in  the  next  century : 

Je  n'aime  point  d'ouir  les  nouvelles  qu'on  dit ; 

Mais  tousjours,  par  malheur,  le  premier  que  j'acoste 

A  leu  quelque  paquet  apporte  par  un  poste, 
Et  m'asseure  avoir  veu  quelque  nouvel  edit. 
Puis  quelque  autre  nouvelle  un  autre  me  redit, 

Et,  s'il  n'en  s<jait  aucune,  il  en  forge  a  sa  poste ; 

Puis  quelque  autre,  arrive  f  raischement  par  la  poste, 

Par  quelque  autre  nouvelle  a  ceux-la  contredit. 
Ainsi  divenjement  je  suis  contraint  d'apprendre 

Mille  nouvelletes  qu'il  me  f  ache  d'entendre ; 

Mais  en  me  les  disant  on  les  dit  a  un  sourd, 
Et  Ton  n'a  garde  apres  de  les  m'ouir  redire, 

Car  il  est  dangereux  d'en  dire  ou  d'en  escrire : 
Et  j'en  prens  pour  tesmoin  les  arrests  de  la  Cour. 

The  above  is  one  of  a  series  of  nineteen  sonnets  satirizing  the 
condition  of  France  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  of  the  civil  and 
religious  wars.  The  poet  gives  voice  to  his  indignation  in  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Miserables  Francois,  he !  que  voules  vous  f  aire  ? 

He!  pourquoi  voules  vous,  enyvres  de  courrous, 

Enfelonnant  vos  coeurs,  vous  occire  entre  vous, 

Et  de  vos  propres  mains  vous  mesmes  vous  deffaire  ? 

Miserables  Francois,  he !  qu'avies  vous  affaire 
En  vous  remutinant  de  vous  eslever  tous  ? 
Mais  encor,  qui  pis  est,  he !  pourquoi,  pouvres  f ous, 
Armes  vous  1'estranger,  pour  vuider  vostre  affaire  ? 

Las!  c'est  le  plus  beau  jeu  qui  lui  pourroit  venir, 

•»  Tome  ii,  p.  130. 
MTome  ii,  p.  125. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  71 

Soubs  couleur  de  vouloir  un  parti  soustenir, 

De  pouvoir  envahir  la  France  desolee. 
Un  jouet  plus  plaisant  il  ne  pourroit  avoir, 

Que  de  voir  cete  guerre  entre-vous  s'esmouvoir, 
Pour  pescher,  comme  on  dit,  quand  la  mer  est  troublee. 

The  Voyage  en  Gascogne  is  a  letter  in  verse  which  Pierre  de 
Brach  addressed  to  his  friend,  Pierre  de  Dampmartin,  fellow  stu- 
dent and  companion  of  the  Floral  Games,  and  in  which  he  describes 
a  journey  which  he  took  to  the  castle  of  Bartas  at  Montfort  in  Gas- 
cony  in  company  with  Guillaume  Saluste: 

"  Le  soleil  se  levant  de  son  nuiteux  sejour, 
Avecques  nos  travaux  nous  ramena  le  jour 
Que  nous  devions  partir,  Saluste  epoint  d'envie 
D'aller  revoir  les  champs  de  sa  chere  patrie, 
Et  moi  de  m'esloigner  de  la  confusion 
De  quelques  fols  s'armans  pour  la  sedition, 
D'ou  le  peuple  auguroit,  murmurant  par  la  ville, 
L'indomptable  fureur  d'une  guerre  civile." 

It  is  probable  that  this  journey  was  undertaken  in  the  summer 
of  1567,  shortly  after  Brach  and  Dampmartin  had  won  their  prizes 
in  the  Floral  Games.  Affairs  in  France  were  heading  toward  the 
Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew.  So  troubled  were  the  times  that 
the  university  remained  closed  in  the  fall  of  I567.83 

The  poet  relates  that  after  visiting  the  lodging  of  his  friend 
Dampmartin,  three  times  in  vain,  to  tell  him  good-bye,  he  went  in 
quest  of  Du  Bartas,  or  as  he  calls  him,  Saluste,  and  they  set  out  on 
horseback  at  sunrise,  determined  to  arrive  at  Montfort  the  same  day, 

"  Bien  aises  de  laisser  les  prisons  d'une  ville84 
Ou  soubs  le  joug  des  loix  nostre  esprit  est  servile : 
Entamant  ce  pendant  divers  propos,  affin 
De  pouvoir  en  parlant  accourcir  le  chemin." 

"  Ici  le  tapis  verd  d'une  plate  campagne, 
Ici  le  front  bosse  d'une  haute  montagne, 

83  R.  Gadave,  Documents  sur  YHistoire  de  I'Universitt  de  Toulouse,  p.  172. 
Paris,  Picard,  1910. 

•*Tome  ii,  pp.  176  ff. 


72  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Ici  1'ombrage  frais  des  epesses  forests, 
Ici  les  riches  dons  de  la  blonde  Ceres, 
Ici  d'un  champ  fertil  la  terre  labouree, 
Ici  le  plain  herbu  qui  bigorre  une  pree 
Esblouissent  nos  yeux  au  lustre  des  couleurs 
Que  redonne  1'esmail  de  mille  &  mille  fleurs." 

"  Nous  trouvons  en  chemin  de  paisans  une  presse 
Qui  leurs  biens  apportoient  dans  leur  ville  maistresse ; 
Tout  ainsi  que  Ton  voit  que  les  petits  ruisseaux 
Apportent  dans  la  mer  le  tribut  de  leurs  eaux. 
L'un  d'un  panier  de  fruit  a  la  teste  chargee; 
L'autre  porte  a  plain  bras  un  grand  f ais  de  jonchee ; 
L'un  porte  dans  sa  main  le  pepiant  poulet, 
L'autre  dessus  son  col  le  beslant  agnelet, 
Et  chacun  qui  venoit  apportoit  quelque  chose 
Pour  de  sa  pouvrete  enrichir  ta  Tolose." 

•  •••••»•• 

"  Alors  le  clair  Phoebus,  en  sa  courge  ordonnee, 
Estoit  au  mi-chemin  de  sa  longue  journee, 
Et  du  rayon  ardent  de  son  ceil  enflamme 
En  feu  tout  sembloit  estre  icy  bas  alume; 
Quand,  fache  de  sentir  cete  chaleur  extreme, 
Je  m'advangay  tout  seul,  batissant  en  moi-mesme 
Mille  chasteaux  en  1'aer  que  mon  esprit  faisoit 
Sur  le  moule  incertain  de  ce  qui  lui  plaisoit. 
A  la  fin,  ennuye  de  ces  vaines  pencees 
Trop  souvent  a  par  moi  vainement  repencees, 
Saluste  j'appelay  &  trois  &  quatre  fois; 
Comme  il  ne  respondoit,  je  rehaussay  ma  vois, 
Estimant  que  Zephir  de  son  alaine  mole 
Emportast  parmi  1'aer  le  son  de  ma  parole. 
Mais  je  le  vi  de  loin  qui  venoit  pas  a  pas 
Branlant  dega,  dela,  penchant  sa  teste  en  bas, 
Sur  le  col  du  cheval  ayant  lache  la  bride, 
Qui  marchoit  a  son  aise  &  lui  servoit  de  guide." 

"  Alors  je  recommence  a  1'appeller  plus  fort ; 
Mais  il  ne  respondoit  non  plus  qu'un  homme  mort, 
Me  faisant  souvenir  en  sa  forme  endormie 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  73 

De  ceux  qui  sont  attains  de  quelque  maladie, 
Et  qui,  pour  changer  d'aer  estants  mis  a  cheval, 
Tremblent,  mal  assures,  se  plaignant  de  leur  mal." 

"  Voyant  qu'il  ne  m'oioit,  mon  chemin  je  rebrousse, 
Je  m'approche  de  lui,  roidement  je  le  pousse, 
Le  tenant  toutefois  d'une  main  arreste 
De  peur  qu'il  ne  tombast  devers  1'autre  coste ; 
A  la  fin  il  s'esveille,  &,  tenant  bonne  mine, 
II  dist  qu'en  son  esprit  quelque  chose  il  rumine, 
Qu'il  ravassoit  ailleurs,  qu'il  n'estoit  endormi, 
Bien  que  la  nuit  passee  il  n'eust  guere  dormi. 
Mais  quoi !  tout  aussi  tost  encore  il  resommeille : 
Quatre  fois  il  s'endort,  quatre  fois  je  1'esveille." 

"  A  la  fin,  pour  oster  le  sommeil  otieux 
Qui  silloit  a  tous  coups  la  paupiere  a  ses  yeux, 
Je  lui  parlay  d'Amour,  sc.achant  qu'il  avoit  1'ame 
Captive  soubs  le  joug  des  beautes  d'une  Dame: 
Le  sommeil  aussi  tost  de  ses  yeux  s'en  vola; 
Sa  langue  du  palais  soubdain  se  decola 
En  ouvrant  le  conduit  d'une  douce  eloquence, 
Pour  me  center  d'Amour  la  force  &  la  puissance, 
Les  esbats,  les  plaisirs  qu'il  mesle  avec  son  fiel, 
Les  peines,  les  torments  qu'il  mesle  avec  son  miel." 

Night  overtakes  the  youths  before  the  completion  of  the  journey : 

"...  1'obscur  de  la  nuit  retournee, 
Au  chasteau  du  Bartas  borna  nostre  journee, 
Bartas  ou  la  nature  &  1'art  industrieux 
Semblent  pour  1'embellir  avoir  mis  tout  leur  mieux." 

After  halting  for  the  night,  the  two  friends  resume  their  journey 
on  the  morrow,  and  as  they  approach  Montf ort,  Du  Bartas  exclaims : 

"  Voila  le  lieu,  dit-il,  de  ma  nativite ; 
Voila  Monfort  qui  m'a  dans  ses  bras  alaite." 


"  Approchant  de  Monfort,  les  citoyens  venoient, 
Qui  d'un  accolement  Saluste  bien-venoient ; 
Et  ses  autres  amis  d'une  troupe  infinie 


74  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Jusques  dans  sa  maison  nous  firent  compagnie, 
Ou  nous  prenons  1'esbat  de  mille  passetemps, 
Estants  ore  a  la  ville,  ores  estants  aux  champs, 
Visitant  c.a  &  la  la  Gascongne  fertile, 
De  village  en  bourgade  &  de  bourgade  en  ville." 


*  Et,  vaguants  au  plaisir  du  vouloir  qui  nous  mene, 
Nous  lisons  quelque  histoire  ou  Frangoise  ou  Romaine, 
Jusqu'a  ce  que  le  chaud  nous  contraint  retourner 
Enclorre  a  la  maison,  jusqu'a  1'apres  disner 
Que  nous  cerchons  le  f  rais  d'un  berceau  qui  nous  couvre, ..." 

"  Et  la  Saluste  &  moi,  estendus  a  1'envers, 
Lisons  dans  quelque  livre,  ou  composans  des  vers, 
Inspires  saintement  d'une  ardeur  poetique, 
Estants  soubs  la  f  raicheur  de  cet  arbre  Delphique." 

After  tiring  of  such  a  pastime,  the  youths  stroll  out  into  the 
fields  and  watch  the  peasants  at  the  harvest.  The  poet  pictures  the 
harvest  scene  in  a  simple  and  vivid  manner.  He  closes  his  poem 
with  a  picture  of  the  charms  of  rustic  life; 

"  Ainsi,  mon  Dampmartin,  j'aimeroi  cent  fois  mieux 
Vivre  aux  champs  en  travail  qu'en  la  ville  otieux, 
Regrettant  que  le  ciel  ne  m'a  voulu  permettre 
De  suivre  en  travaillant  cete  vie  champestre, 
Pour  m'estre  rejoul  aux  passetemps  divers 
Qu'icy  je  t'ay  portraits  du  pingeau  de  mes  vers." 

Following  is  the  second  strophe  of  the  chant  royal  for  which 
Pierre  de  Brach  was  awarded  the  Eglantine  in  1567.  A  comparison 
with  the  above  later  poems  indicates  the  evolution  of  the  poet's  art : 

"  Le  president  du  ciel  qui  de  reternite85 
En  son  tout  infini  tient  I'eternel  espasse, 
Et  qui  par  1'esprit  sainct  de  sa  divinite 
Tout  ce  que  l'homme  f  aict  en  ce  monde  compasse, 
Voiant  que  les  humains  enflammes  de  fureur 
S'ouvrent  mechantement  le  peche  plein  d'horreur, 
Qui  d'un  murtrier  lien  dans  1'enfer  les  enlasse, 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  75 

Pour  les  tirer  de  la  et  leur  ouvrir  les  yeux 
Qui  peuvent  ce  monter  au  ciel  la  gent  humaine 
Envoya  de  la-hault  en  ces  terrestres  lieux 
Le  prophete  englouty  au  sein  de  la  baleyne" 

GUY  DU  FAUR,  SIEUR  DE  PIBRAC. 

Another  illustrious  poet  of  the  Floral  Games,  who  was  destined 
to  have  a  more  lasting  literary  fame  in  France  than  either  Du  Bartas 
or  Brach,  was  Guy  du  Faur,  sieur  de  Pibrac,  author  of  the  Quatrains. 

Guy  du  Faur  belonged  to  one  of  the  best  known  families  of 
south  France  in  the  sixteenth  century.  He  was  the  son  of  Pierre 
du  Faur,  president  in  the  parlement  of  Toulouse  and  from  1535  to 
1558  chancellor  of  the  Floral  Games.  His  uncle,  "Michel  du  Faur 
de  Saint  Jory,  was  also  a  president  in  the  parlement  and  chancellor 
of  the  Floral  Games  for  many  years,  succeeding  to  the  office  upon  the 
death  of  Pierre  du  Faur  in  1559.  He  in  turn  was  succceeded  as 
chancellor  by  his  son,  Pierre  du  Faur  de  Saint  Jory,  who  held  the 
office  from  1590  to  1600,  and  who  was  first  president  of  the  parle- 
ment. When  Michel  du  Faur  was  elevated  to  the  office  of  chancellor, 
his  chair  as  mainteneur  was  left  vacant.  His  nephew,  Guy  du  Faur, 
was  elected  to  succeed  him.  The  record  of  the  Livre  Rouge  states : 
..."  fut  par  commun  advis  et  oppinion  desd.  seigneurs,  chan- 
celier,  cappitolz,  maincteneurs  et  maistres,  arreste  que  la  resigna- 
tion faicte  par  icelluy  seigneur  chancellier  dudict  office  de  maincte- 
neur,  estoit  accepte  et  en  son  lieu  feust  esleu  et  nomme  monsieur 
maistre  Guy  du  Faur,  seigneur  de  Pibrac,  conseiller  au  grand  conseil 
et  juge-maige  de  Tholose."  In  addition  to  the  offices  just  mentioned, 
Guy  du  Faur  de  Pibrac  was  a  deputy  to  the  States  General  which 
assembled  at  Orleans  in  1560,  was  ambassador  from  France  to  the 
Council  of  Trent  in  1562;  he  was  also  avocat  general  in  the  parle- 
ment of  Paris  in  1565.  He  accompanied  the  Duke  of  Anjou  to 
Poland  in  1573.  During  the  reign  of  this  prince,  who  ascended 
the  throne  of  France  as  Henry  III,  he  was,  in  succession,  councilor 
of  state,  president  of  the  parlement  of  Paris,  chancellor  of  Margaret 
of  Navarre,  who  intrusted  him  with  important  missions.  An  orator 

85  Michel  du  Faur,  president  of  the  parlement  of  Toulouse,  was  at  this  time 
chancellor  of  the  Floral  Games.  The  poet  is  playing  to  the  galleries. 


7$  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

of  great  eloquence,  one  of  the  most  erudite  men  of  his  time,  poet, 
diplomat,  statesman,  Guy  de  Pibrac  was  a  typical  man  of  the  Renais- 
sance. As  a  writer,  his  works  embrace :  the  Quatrains,  many  times 
reprinted,86  the  Plaisirs  de  la  Vie  Rustique,  and  in  prose,  Lettres, 
Discours,  his  famous  Apologie  de  la  Saint  Barthekmy,  and  the  Re- 
monstrances which  he  delivered  in  his  quality  of  avocat  general  at 
Paris. 

De  Thou,  in  his  mcmoires,  says  of  Pibrac,  that  "  he  was  of  an 
incorruptible  probity  and  of  a  sincere  piety;  he  had  a  veritable  zeal 
for  the  public  welfare,  a  lofty  heart,  a  generous  soul,  an  extreme 
aversion  for  avarice,  a  great  deal  of  charm,  and  a  certain  gentle- 
ness of  spirit.  He  was  handsome,  of  graceful  mien,  and  endowed 
by  nature  with  an  eloquence  which  was  both  harmonious  and  per- 
suasive; he  wrote  in  Latin  with  elegance,  and  had  much  talent  for 
French  poetry ;  he  was  only  lacking  somewhat  in  action  and  vivacity ; 
he  had  never  been  able  to  overcome  his  natural  laziness  and  indo- 
lence."87 Although  a  Catholic,  he  displayed  a  moderate  spirit  toward 
the  Huguendts,  and  spent  much  time  in  attempting  to  smooth  out 
the  differences  between  the  contending  factions  at  Toulouse.  He 
was  a  friend  of  Scaliger,  Daurat,  Ronsard,  Baif  and  of  all  the 
Pleiade.  Florent  Chretien  translated  his  Quatrains  into  Latin  and 
Greek.  Rapin  called  him  "  decus  secli,"  and  Du  Bartas  dedicated 
to  him  his  Triomphe  de  la  foi.  He  was  likewise  on  friendly  terms 
with  Scevole  de  Sainte-Marthe,  with  De  Thou,  fitienne  Pasquier, 
Michel  de  1'Hospital,  Pithou  and  Du  Vair.  He  was  loved  and 
admired  by  Montaigne,  who  eulogized  him  in  his  Essays  (III,  ix), 

••  The  latest  edition  of  the  Quatrains  is  that  of  Henry  Guy,  dean  of  the 
faculty  of  letters  in  the  university  of  Toulouse,  published  by  Privat  at  Toulouse, 
1904.  The  poems  are  preceded  by  an  admirable  essay  on  Pibrac,  and  the 
Quatrains  themselves  are  annotated.  See  Jules  Claretie,  Les  Quatrains  de 
Pibrac,  Paris,  Lemerre,  1874.  See  also  Tamizey  de  Larroque,  Bibliographic  de 
Guy  du  Four,  de  Pibrac,  Polybibl.,  1869 ;  Cougny,  Pibrac,  sa  vie,  ses  ecrits,  1869. 

Early  editions:  Cinquante  Quatrains  contenant  preceptes  et  enseignemens 
utiles  pour  la  vie  de  I'homme,  composes  d  limitation  de  Phocylides,  d'Epichar- 
mus  et  autres  anciens  poetes  grecs.  Par  le  S.  de  Pibrac,  1574,  in-8.  Ch.  Pascal: 
Vie  tt  Maeurs  de  Messire  Guy  du  Four,  seigneur  de  Pybrac,  traduit  du  latin 
par  Guy  du  Faurf  Sr.  d'Hermay,  1617,  in-12.  The  Quatrains  were  translated 
into  English  and  were  included  in  an  early  edition,  along  with  the  translation 
of  the  works  of  Du  Bartas. 

•7  Cayla,  Histoire  de  Toulouse,  p.  497. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  77 

and  he  is  likewise  mentioned  by  Rabelais  in  his  book.  In  spite  of 
the  universal  esteem  in  which  he  was  held,  his  reputation  suffered 
both  from  his  'Apology  for  the  massacres  of  Saint  Bartholomew, 
written  as  a  token  of  gratitude  for  favors  which  had  been  bestowed 
upon  him  by  the  queen  mother,  Catherine  de  Medicis,  and  the  king, 
Charles  IX,  and  from  a  scandal  concerning  his  alleged  relations 
with  the  dissolute  Margaret  of  Navarre,  whose  chancellor  he  was. 
After  the  storm  arose  concerning  his  Apology  for  Saint  Bartholo- 
mew, he  retired  from  the  world  and  composed  his  Plaisirs  de  la  vie 
rustique.  The  first  edition  of  his  Quatrains,  fifty  in  number,  ap- 
peared in  1574. 

The  Quatrains  had  an  instantaneous  success.  In  their  final  form 
they  were  126  in  number.  Maxims  or  proverbs  in  verse,  they  were 
easily  memorized.  The  form  and  the  moral  precepts  which  they 
contained  were  well  adapted  for  use  in  the  instruction  of  youth, 
and  they  became  the  "  Bible  "  of  French  school  children,  being  freely 
quoted  until  well  into  the  eighteenth  century.  Of  the  role  which 
this  work  played  in  education,  fitienne  Pasquier  says:88  "Jamais 
chose  ne  fut  plus  utile  et  agreable  au  peuple  que  les  Quadrains 
.  .  .  Nous  les  faisions  apprendre  a  nos  enfants  pour  leur  servir  de 
premiere  instruction,  et  neantmoins  dignes  d'estre  enchassez  aux 
coeurs  des  plus  grands."  In  the  opening  scene  of  Moliere's  Sgana- 
relle,  Gorgibus  admonishes  his  daughter  Clelie  to  throw  away  the 
popular  romances  which  she  had  been  reading  and  to  read  instead 
the  Quatrains  of  Pibrac: 

Jetez-moi  dans  le  feu  tous  ces  mechants  ecrits 
Qui  gatent  tous  les  jours  tant  de  jeunes  esprits; 
Lisez-moi,  comme  il  faut,  au  lieu  de  ces  sornettes, 
Les  Quatrains  de  Pibrac,  et  les  doctes  Tablettes 
Du  conseiller  Matthieu ;  1'ouvrage  est  de  valeur 
Et  plein  de  beaux  dictons  a  reciter  par  cceur. 

Madame  de  Maintenon  bears  testimony  of  the  place  occupied  by 
the  Quatrains  in  the  instruction  of  children :  Je  me  souviens  encore 
que  ma  cousine  et  moi,  qui  etions  a  peu  pres  du  meme  age,  nous 
passions  une  partie  du  jour  a  garder  les  dindons  de  ma  tante.  On 
nous  plaquoit  un  masque  sur  notre  nez,  car  on  avoit  peur  que  nous 

•»  Recherches,  VII,  6. 


7g  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

ne  nous  halassions ;  on  nous  mettoit  au  bras  un  petit  panier  ou  etoit 
notrc  dejeuner  avec  un  petit  livret  des  Quatrains  de  Pibrac,  dont  on 
nous  donnoit  quelques  pages  a  apprendre  par  jour.  .  .  ."8  In  her 
treatise  on  the  education  of  girls,90  Madame  de  Maintenon  observes : 
"  La  plus  habile  (des  gouvernantes)  est  celle  qui  sait  quelques  lignes 
de  vers,  quelques  Quatrains  de  Pibrac  qu'elle  fait  dire  en  toute  occa- 
sion, et  qu'on  recite  comme  un  petit  perroquet." 

The  Quatrains  are,  according  to  their  author,  an  imitation  of 
Phocylides,  Epicharmus  and  other  ancient  Greek  poets.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  they  are  drawn  from  various  sources  of  antiquity,  particu- 
larly Plutarch,  as  well  as  from  the  Bible.91  In  their  sources  they 
are  of  the  Renaissance ;  in  their  form,  of  the  middle  ages.  Begin- 
ning with  the  Enseignemens  and  Prouverbes  moraulx  of  Christine 
de  Pisan,  proverbial  poetry  had  been  common  in  north  France 
throughout  the  period  of  the  Rhetoricians.  Pibrac  handles  the 
proverbial  subjects  which  he  treats  after  two  manners.  Some  of 
the  Quatrains  form  series,  others  are  isolated.  The  subject  is  stated 
in  the  first  line  and  developed  in  the  remaining  lines  of  a  single 
Quatrain  or  of  a  series,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  intent  of  the  author 
is  a  moral  one,  and  in  his  Quatrains  he  voices  his  moral  philosophy. 

Guy  de  Pibrac  is  a  thorough  product  of  the  influence  of  the 
Floral  Games.  While  he  never  won  a  prize  in  the  annual  competi- 
tions, except  a  flower  of  encouragement  in  his  childhood,92  he  was 
a  mainteneur  in  the  period  when  the  general  ideas  of  the  Renais- 
sance were  having  a  strong  influence  on  the  young  poets  of  Tou- 
louse. Although  he  did  not  express  himself  in  the  conventional 

•9  Conseils  aux  demoiselles,  e"diL  Lavalle,  Paris,  1857,  t.  I,  p.  98.  Quoted 
by  Henry  Guy. 

"Entretiens  sur  I'educotion  de  jeunes  filles,  edit.  Lavalle,  Paris,  1854,  p. 
144.  Quoted  from  Henry  Guy. 

91  Henry  Guy:  Les  Quatrains  de  Pibrac,  pp.  12  ff.,  Toulouse,  1904. 

92  In  1572,  Pierre  du  Faur,  the  young  son  of  Guy  de  Pibrac,  was  awarded 
a  flower   (prize)   of  encouragement  by  the  Floral  Games  in  the  form  of  an 
crillet,  or  pink.    Upon  this  occasion  his  father  composed  a  sonnet,  of  which  the 
following  is  the  beginning: 

44  Mon  fils,  tu  as  gaigne  ceste  petite  fleur 
Dont  je  voy  mon  enfance  a  ton  age  estrenee, 
Mais  comme  elle  me  fut  par  mon  pere  donnee, 
J'eusse  aussi  desire  en  estre  le  donneur." 
Quoted  by  F.  de  Gelis  in  his  manuscript  edition  of  the  Livre  Rogue,  f .  269,  v*. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  79 

chant  royal,  he  chose  a  form  as  truly  Rhetorician  as  that  employed 
by  the  Floral  Games.93  That  he  chose  to  treat  moral  subjects  is  no 
doubt  due  to  the  environment  of  his  youth  and  manhood.  He  came 
of  a  family  of  parlementaires,  and  was  himself  connected  with 
the  parlement.  The  members  of  the  parlement  of  Toulouse,  particu- 
larly in  the  time  of  Henry  II,  had  a  reputation  for  stern  probity 
and  incorruptibility.  At  a  time  when  the  corruption  of  the  parle- 
ment of  Paris  was  common  talk,  that  of  Toulouse  was  held  up  as 
an  example  of  correctness.  The  moral  side  of  antiquity  was 
attractive  to  the  legal  and  judicial  mind.  Mathieu  de  Chalvet,  who 
was  president  of  the  parlement  of  Toulouse  in  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century  (as  well  as  poet  and  mainteneur  of  the  Floral 
Games)  was  especially  attracted  by  Seneca,  and  translated  his 
essays.  That  Pibrac  as  a  poet  was  the  product  of  his  Toulouse 
environment,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

As  previously  stated,  the  poet  expresses  his  thoughts  in  series 
of  quatrains,  of  which  the  following  is  a  good  illustration : 

Tout  1'vniuers  n'est  qu'vne  cite  ronde, 
Chacun  a  droict  de  s'en  dire  bourgeois, 
Le  Scythe  et  More  autant  que  le  Gregois, 
Le  plus  petit  que  le  plus  grand  du  monde. 

83  Proverbial  refrains  were  common  enough  in  the  chants  royaux  of  the 
poets  of  the  Floral  Games.  In  an  impromptu  trial  (essay)  by  which  the  merits 
of  the  poets  came  to  be  tested,  as  has  been  stated  elsewhere,  the  contestants 
were  shut  up  in  a  room  and  assigned  a  fefrain,  most  often  in  the  form  of  a 
proverb,  upon  which  they  were  compelled  to  compose  verses :  at  first  quatrains, 
huitains  or  dixains,  eventually  sonnets.  The  sonnet  became  the  sole  form 
employed  in  the  Essay.  Note  the  proverbial  nature  of  these  refrains  which 
have  been  culled  from  the  Livre  Rouge: 

'  Point  n'est  a  tous  parvenir  a  Corinthe." 
'  Le  vice  et  la  vertu  ne  sont  jamais  ensemble." 
'  Une  seule  vertu  mile  vices  efface," 
'  Qui  trop  ayme  la  terre  est  ennemy  du  cieL" 
'  Ung  chemin  aus  vertus,  plusieurs  chemins  au  vice." 
4  Plusieurs  vont  au  combat,  un  seule  gaigne  la  palme." 
'  Le  f rain  de  la  raison  dompte  les  plus  farouches." 
'  Le  seul  soing  du  seigneur  est  la  garde  des  villes." 
'  La  chaleur  du  soleil  est  la  vie  du  monde." 

Note  the  difficulty  of  the  rime  word  in  the  first  of  the  refrains  cited.  It 
would  take  a  crested  poet  to  be  able  to  rime  to  Corinthe!  Cf.  Rostand's 
Cyrano,  in  Act  I,  where  Cyrano  selects  the  difficult  word  pleutre  as  a  rime 
word  in  his  extemporary  ballade. 


So  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Dans  le  pourpris  de  ceste  cite  belle 
Dieu  a  loge  1'homme  comme  en  lieu  sainct, 
Comme  en  vn  Temple,  ou  luymesmes  s'est  peinct 
En  mil  endroicts  de  couleur  immortelle. 

II  n'y  a  coing  si  petit  dans  ce  Temple 
Ou  la  grandeur  n'apparoisse  de  Dieu : 
l/homme  est  plante  iustement  au  milieu, 
A  fin  que  mieux  par  tout  il  la  contemple. 

II  ne  s<;auroit  ailleurs  mieux  la  cognoistre 

Que  dedans  soy,  ou  comme  en  vn  miroir, 

La  terre  il  peut  et  le  ciel  mesme  voir, 

Car  tout  le  monde  est  compris  en  son  estre.     (6-9) 

The  following  illustrates  the  isolated  quatrain: 

Ne  vois  au  bal,  qui  n'aymera  la  danse, 
Ny  au  banquet  qui  ne  voudra  manger, 
Ny  sur  la  mer  qui  craindra  le  danger, 
Ny  a  la  Cour  qui  dira  ce  qu'il  pense.     (105) 

The  following  quatrains  illustrate  other  phases  of  the  poet's 
thought : 

Qui  a  de  soi  parfaicte  cognoissance 
N'ignore  rien  de  ce  qu'il  fault  sqauoir : 
Mais  le  moyen  asseure  de  1'auoir, 
Est  se  mirer  dedans  la  sapience.      (10) 

Heureux  qui  met  en  Dieu  son  esperance, 
Et  qui  1'inuoque  en  sa  prosperite 
Autant  ou  plus  qu'en  son  aduersite, . 
Et  ne  se  fie  en  humaine  asseurance.     (22) 

Les  biens  du  corps  et  ceux  de  la  fortune 
Ne  sont  pas  biens,  a  parler  proprement : 
Us  sont  subiects  au  moindre  changement, 
Mais  la  vertu  demeure  tousiours  vne.     (25) 

Ayme  1'honneur  plus  que  ta  propre  vie : 
I'entens  1'honneur  qui  consiste  au  deuoir 
Que  rendre  on  doit,  selon,  1'humain  pouuoir, 
A  Dieu,  au  Roy,  aux  Loix,  a  sa  Patrie.     (33) 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  81 

Vertu  es  moeurs  ne  s'acquiert  par  1'estude, 
Ne  par  argent,  ne  par  fauer  des  Roys, 
Ne  par  vn  acte,  ou  par  deux,  ou  par  trois, 
Ains  par  constante  et  par  longue  habitude.     (61) 

Qui  lit  beaucoup,  et  iamais  ne  medite,*4 

Semble  a  celuy  qui  mange  auidement, 

Et  de  tous  mets  surcharge  tellement 

Son  estomach,  que  rien  ne  luy  profite.      (62) 

Maint  vn  pouuoit  par  temps  deuenir  sage, 
S'il  n'eust  cuide  1'estre  ia  tout  a  f  aict. 
Quel  artisant  fut  one  maistre  parf aict, 
Du  premier  iour  de  son  apprentissage  ?     (64) 

In  the  very  narrow  confines  of  his  small  study  chamber,  seated 
on  a  high-backed  bench,  the  jurist  poet,  as  he  gazed  out  of  the 
single  narrow  window  upon  the  undulating  Gascon  plain,95  reflected 
upon  the  moral  issues  of  life  and  upon  the  pleasures  of  a  quiet  ex- 
istence, far  from  the  crowd  and  surrounded  by  the  peaceful  quiet 
of  the  country : 

Sans  doncques  plus  avant  du  propos  m'egarer, 
Je  dis  que  lorsqu'on  voit  les  champs  se  bigarrer, 
De  boutons  et  de  fleurs,  alors  1'homme  champetre 
Rec.oit  mille  plaisirs :  soit  qu'il  regarde  paitre 
Ses  vaches  et  ses  boeufs  et  le  troupeau  menu, 
Ou  qu'il  voise  nombrer,  quand  le  soir  est  venu, 
Les  agnelets  au  pare  pour  en  savoir  le  compte, 
Et  du  beurre  vendu,  et  a  quoi  le  lait  monte ; 
Ou  soit,  qu'au  point  du  jour,  d'un  bouton  nouvelet 
De  quelque  franc  rosier,  il  fasse  un  chapelet 
Aux  Faunes,  citoyens  de  la  foret  voisine, 
Ou  a  la  terre  mere,  honorant  sa  gesine  .  .  .96 

»*An  English  poet  said  more  pointedly  of  a  learned  ass: 
"  Who  writes  at  last  laboriously  to  show 
How  much  a  man  may  read,  how  little  know." 
Thomas  Franklin,  London,  1753. 

95  Upon  a  visit  to  the  chateau  of  Pibrac  in  the  summer  of  1919,  the  writer 
was  shown  the  small  room  in  which,  according  to  monsieur  Raoul  de  Pibrac, 
descendant  of  Guy  de  Pibrac  and  present  owner  of  the  estate,  the  poet  com- 
posed his  works. 

96  Anthologie  poetique  franfaise  du  xvie  sitcle  (by  Maurice  Allem),  Gamier 
Freres,  Paris,  Tome  2,  p.  29. 


82  Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Les  Plaisirs  de  la  vie  rustique,  from  which  the  above  is  quoted, 
is  a  conventional  poem  after  the  manner  of  the  Pleiade,  but  in  his 
Quatrains  the  poet  makes  a  genuine  contribution  to  the  literature  of 
the  Renaissance. 

Other  poets  of  the  Toulouse  group  contemporary  with  the 
Pleiade,  who  published  volumes  of  poetry  and  who  attained  con- 
siderable literary  reputation,  were  Jean  de  Rangouse,97  rival  of 
Ronsard  for  the  affections  of  Helene  de  Surgeres,  maid  of  honor 
to  the  queen  Catherine  de  Medicis ;  Jean  de  Figon,98  whom  Colletet 
included  among  his  lives  of  the  poets,  Gabriel  de  Terlon,99  and 
Pierre  Le  Loyer. 

PIERRE  LE  LOYER. 

Pierre  Le  Loyer,  of  Anjou,  was  a  student  at  Toulouse  and  won 
the  Eglantine  in  1572.  He  was  the  sieur  de  la  Brosse  and  was  born 
in  1550  at  Huille,  a  village  on  the  Loire.  After  studying  law  at 
Toulouse,  he  went  to  Paris  to  practice ;  but  soon  retired  to  his  native 
province,  where  he  occupied  the  office  of  conseiller  au  presidial  at 
Angers.  He  died  in  1634.  He  was  a  learned  man,  versed  in  the 
ancient  languages.  His  erudition  turned  into  a  mania  for  finding 

97  Dumege  gives  a  sketch  of  Rangouse  in  his  Biographic  toulousaine.  He 
was  a  magistrate  and  poet.  He  wrote  a  large  number  of  chansons,  for  which 
he  composed  the  airs.  Remy  Belleau  and  the  poet's  of  the  Pleiade  furnished 
him  material  for  several  musical  compositions.  While  still  quite  young,  he 
went  to  Paris  where  he  became  allied  with  Ronsard  and  other  celebrated  men 
of  letters.  It  is  said  that  his  friendship  with  Ronsard  was  cooled  by  the  rivalry 
in  love  mentioned  above  in  the  text.  He  was  a  conseiller  in  the  parlement  at 
Toulouse  from  1558,  and  died  in  that  city  in  1569.  He  won  the  Violet  in  1550. 

••Jean  de  Figon  was  a  student  from  Monteillimar  in  Dauphine.  Guillaume 
Colletet  devoted  to  him  one  of  his  Vies  des  Pottes  franfois.  He  won  the 
Eglantine  in  1558. 

••Gabriel  de  Terlon  (Trellon),  who  won  the  Marigold  (Souci)  in  1566, 
and  the  Eglantine  in  1569,  was  the  son  of  Claude  de  Terlon  who  had  won  the 
Mangold  in  1540,  brother  of  Claude  de  Terlon,  an  intense  partisan  of  the  Ligue, 
and  a  poet  of  considerable  fame;  a  sketch  of  whom  was  included  by  Colletet 
in  his  lives.  Claude  de  Terlon,  the  father,  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  and 
according  to  Lafaille,  the  most  distinguished  ofator  of  his  time.  He  was 
elected  capitoul  of  Toulouse  in  1555,  and  in  1559  was  chosen  as  a  deputy  to 
accompany  Guy  de  Pibrac  to  the  States  General  at  Orleans.  Gabriel  de  Terlon 
became  a  mainteneur  of  the  Floral  Games  in  1591.  He  was  the  author  of 
several  literary  compositions,  notably  of  a  longer  poem  in  six  cantos:  Chants 
dcs  Vertus,  mentioned  by  Dumege  in  his  Biographic  toulousaine. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  83 

in  the  oriental  languages  the  etymology  of  names  of  French  cities, 
villages,  hamlets,  and  even  of  the  houses  of  his  native  Anjou.  In 
the  year  in  which  he  won  his  prize,  he  published  at  Toulouse  a 
volume  of  verses,  some  of  which  had  no  doubt  been  read  before  the 
judges  of  the  Floral  Games.  The  title  of  this  volume,  which  ap- 
peared from  the  press  of  Colomies,  was:  L'Idylle  sur  le  soir  et 
autres  vers  par  Pierre  Le  Layer,  Seigneur  de  la  Brosse,  Angeirin*00 
He  also  published  at  Paris  poetic  works101  containing  the  Amours 
de  Flore,  Sonnets,  Folasteries  et  £bats  de  jeunesse,  £pigrammes, 
and  Bocage  de  I'art  d'aimer,  imitated  from  Ovid,  from  which  the 
following  stanzas  are  taken: 

PREMIER  BOCAGE  DE  I/ART  D'xiMER.102 
Stances. 

Quiconque  soit  des  Franc.ais  qui  ignore 
Quel  est  d'aimer  et  I'art  et  le  savoir, 
Lise  mes  vers  et  fasse  son  devoir 
D'effectuer  ce  qu'il  va  lire  encore. 

Par  art,  la  nef  parmi  les  flots  se  glisse, 
Et  d'avirons  la  barque  on  fait  tourner ; 
Par  art  on  doit  les  charrettes  mener, 
Par  art  il  faut  que  1'amour  se  regisse. 

Or,  ce  bel  art,  bien  qu'il  soit  difficile, 
Apre  et  facheux  en  ses  premiers  progres, 
S'il  est  suivi,  Ton  s'apergoit  apres 
Qu'il  est  plus  doux,  plus  joyeux  et  facile. 

L'amour  commence  au  choix  qu'on  fait  des  belles, 
Apres  le  choix  survient  le  deviser, 
Puis  la  priere  et  le  simple  baiser, 
Et  la  merci  que  Ton  desire  d'elles. 

100  Cf.  Goujet:  Bibliothtque  frangcuse,  and  Joseph  Dedieu:  L'Art  poltique 
franfais,  Toulouse,  1909. 

101  Maurice  Allem  (Anthol.  poftique  du  xvie  sitcle)  says  that  this  volume 
was  published  in  1570  during  his  stay  at  Paris.     Since  he  was  at  Toulouse  at 
that  time,  the  volume  either  appeared  after  1572  or  prior  to  his  winning  a  prize 
at  Toulouse. 

loaThis  poem  is  taken  from  Maurice  Allem,  mentioned  above. 


Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 

Et  pour  choisir  les  belles  a  ta  guise, 
II  faut  hanter  la  cour  ou  elles  sont, 
Et  les  festins  et  les  bals  qui  se  font, 
Et  les  beaux  lieux,  et  la  plus  grande  eglise. 

Sois  bien  vetu,  et  surtout  prends-toi  garde 
D'etre  bien  net,  bien  propre  et  bien  gentil : 
Plus  qu'un  esprit  admirable  et  subtil, 
Ce  qui  se  voit,  une  femme  regarde. 

Ce  grand  Socrate,  ornement  de  la  Grece, 
Fut-il  jatnais  des  femmes  estime? 
Et  toutefois  il  tenait  enferme 
Dans  son  esprit  le  tresor  de  sagesse. 

Et,  si  tu  peux,  apprends  la  poesie 
Et  le  beau  ton  de  mille  chants  divers : 
Ne  vois-tu  pas  la  musique  et  les  vers 
Gagner  les  sens,  Tame  et  la  f  antaisie  ? 

Etre  a  cheval  et  lui  donner  carriere, 
Virevolter  en  maint  estourbillon, 
Darder  la  barre  et  pousser  le  ballon, 
Cela  sert  bien  d'une  amource  premiere. 

Mele  souvent  du  sel  en  tes  paroles ; 
N'hesite  point,  parle  sans  trop  parler; 
Ne  sois  point  long,  cela  ne  peut  aller 
Qu'a  ces  pedants  qui  tonnent  aux  ecoles. 

Va  entre  deux  et  ne  sois  point  farouche, 
Ni  trop  joyeux,  si  tu  veux  parler  bien; 
Car  la  vertu  consiste  en  son  moyen : 
Au  trop  et  peu  toujours  le  vice  touche. 

Vers  les  amours,  quand  le  desir  t'appelle, 
Ne  songe  pas  a  fonder  ton  appui 
Dessus  la  veuve  et  la  femme  d'autrui, 
Aussi  plutot  sur  la  tendre  pucelle. 

L'oeillet  vermeil  est  au  sein  de  la  fille : 
Quand  il  fletrit  on  le  jette  au  f umier ; 
La  rose  est  plus  prisee  en  son  verger, 
Que  quand  la  main  et  1'arrache  et  la  pille. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  85 

Dedans  le  bal  va  t'asseoir  aupres  d'elle, 
L'entretenir,  1'appuyer  de  tes  bras ; 
Et  si  tu  vois  qu'elle  est  sise  bien  bas, 
Fais-lui  servir  tes  genoux  d'escabelle. 

Dessus  sa  robe  ote-lui  la  poussiere, 
Ou  f  ais  semblant  de  1'oter  pour  le  moins ; 
Danse  avec  elle  et  lui  serre  les  mains, 
Montrant  1'effort  de  sa  grace  meurtriere. 

Si  trop  longtemps  la  danse  te  retarde 
Pour  la  conduire  ou  elle  veut  aller, 
Tends-lui  la  main  et  d'un  humble  parler 
En  t'inclinant  prie  que  Dieu  la  garde. 


CONCLUSION. 

Efforts  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  to  establish  the  ex- 
istence of  a  Pleiade  at  Toulouse.  While  there  may  have  been  no 
school  there  with  conscious  and  definite  reforms  in  mind  concerning 
the  language  and  poetry  in  general,  there  was  a  group  actively  en- 
gaged in  working  out  the  new  ideas  of  the  Renaissance,  either  men 
who  were  followers  of  the  Pleiade  of  the  north  or  who  worked 
independently  of  them.  The  ideas  of  the  Pleiade  were  immediately 
taken  up  by  Bernard  de  Poey.  Robert  Gamier  received  his  poetic 
inspiration  at  Toulouse,  and  it  was  there  that  he  published  his  first 
volume  of  verse.  Du  Bartas  and  Pibrac  stand  out  as  genuine  con- 
tributors to  the  literature  of  the  Renaissance,  and  are  complements 
of  the  Pleiade.  Pierre  de  Brach  was  a  very  successful  follower  of 
the  Pleiade,  and  made  a  definite  contribution  to  the  poetic  ideas  of 
the  time  by  using  a  series  of  sonnets  as  a  vehicle  for  satire.103 
Pierre  Le  Loyer  was  a  graceful  and  rather  prolific  poet.  A  sem- 
blance of  a  school  is  seen  in  the  close  friendship  of  Du  Bartas, 
Brach  and  Pierre  de  Dampmartin.  Thus,  we  find  contemporary 
with  the  Pleiade  of  the  north,  at  least  seven  poets  at  Toulouse 
working  at  new  ideas,  either  making  direct  contributions  or  spread- 
ing the  ideas  of  the  Pleiade.  In  addition  to  this,  the  Floral  Games 

103  In  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  in  the  expression  of  satire  in  the 
sonnet,  Brach  was  foreshadowed  by  Du  Bellay. 


86 


Toulouse  in  the  Renaissance 


exercised  a  stimulating  influence  on  the  students  of  the  university, 
and  many  of  these  after  leaving  Toulouse  spread  throughout 
France  an  interest  in  and  love  for  poetry.  In  considering  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries  in  France,  it  is  impossible  to  arrive 
at  a  complete  understanding  of  the  history  of  poetry  without  taking 
into  consideration  the  influence  of  the  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse. 
The  poetry  of  the  south  has  long  been  neglected  and  affords  a  fine 
field  of  research. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  well  to  sum  up  the  growth  of  poetry  in 
both  the  north  and  south  of  France.  There  is  a  striking  parallel  in 
its  growth  in  the  two  parts  of  the  country.  The  following  outline 
in  parallel  columns  may  be  of  use  in  comparing  the  two  sections: 


CENTURY 
XII 

XIII 
XIV 


XV 

XVI 
Before 


After 
J550. 


NORTH  FRANCE. 
Crude    civilization.      Heroic 

poetry. 

Trouveres   and   Jongleurs. 
Decline   of   Heroic    Poetry. 

Rise  of  the  middle  class. 
Poetry     becomes     Rhetoric ; 

the    poets    Rhetoricians, 

guided  by  books  of  rules, 

or  Arts  of  Rhetoric. 
Decline  of   Rhetoric  at   the 

end  of  century. 
Spread   of    Rhetoric   in   the 

decadence ;  multiplication 

of  Rhetoricians. 


Rise  of  the  Pteiade.  Suc- 
cessful imitation  of  the 
masterpieces  of  antiquity. 


After 
1665. 

XVII 
First  half 


Formation    of    the    classical 
ideal 


SOUTH  FRANCE. 

Advanced   civilization.     Lyric 

poetry. 
Troubadours  and  Joglars. 

Decline  of  Lyric  Poetry.  Rise  of 
the  middle  class. 

Poetry  becomes  Amor,  or  Gay 
Science ;  the  poets  Fins  Am- 
ottts,  guided  by  the  rules  of 
the  Leys  d' Amors. 

Decline  of  Gay  Science  at  the  end 
of  the  century. 

Adoption  of  Rhetoricians  as 
models,  together  with  their 
books  as  guides.  Gay  Sci- 
ence becomes  College  of  the 
Art  and  Science  of  Rhetoric 
Leys  d'  Amors  succeeded  by 
Art  et  Science  de  Rhetorique. 

Immediate  influence  of  the  Plei- 
ade.  Attraction  of  general 
philosophical  and  scientific 
ideas  of  the  Renaissance. 
The  Rhetorician  form  and 
spirit  modified  by  these  two 
forces. 

Direct  contributions  to  the  new 
literature  by  Du  Bartas,  Pi- 
brac,  and  Brach. 

Profound  influence  of  the  Pleiade 
upon  the  content  and  language 
of  the  chant  royal. 


The  Floral  Games  of  Toulouse  87 

Second        Perfecting   of    the   classical      Reorganization  of  the  College  of 
half  ideal.  Rhetoric  into  the  Academy  of 

the  Floral  Games  by  Louis 
XIV  in  1694.  Adoption  of 
the  classical  ideal.  Chant 
royal  displaced  by  odes,  ele- 
gies, sonnets,  etc. 


VITA 

The  writer  was  born  at  Huntsville,  Alabama,  August  10,  1876. 
His  earlier  life  was  spent  at  Falmouth,  Kentucky.  He  entered 
Georgetown  College,  Kentucky,  in  1897,  where  he  pursued  the 
course  of  studies  known  as  the  "modern  language  group."  He 
graduated  in  1901  with  the  A.B.  degree.  After  graduation,  he  be- 
came principal  of  the  Scottsboro,  Ala.,  Institute,  resigning  in  the 
spring  of  1903  for  the  purpose  of  going  abroad  for  study.  After 
spending  the  spring  and  summer  in  Paris  and  Berlin,  he  returned 
to  Howard  College,  Birmingham,  Ala.,  as  professor  of  modern 
languages.  He  pursued  courses  in  modern  languages  in  the  follow- 
ing summer  schools:  Summer  School  of  the  South,  Knoxville, 
Tenn.,  1902;  Cornell  University,  1904;  University  of  Chicago, 
1905;  Germany,  1907;  University  of  Caen,  Normandy,  1909;  Co- 
lumbia University,  1913, 1918, 1920.  He  was  the  "American  Dean" 
at  the  University  of  Toulouse,  France,  1919.  In  1910  he  received 
the  A.M.  degree  from  Howard  College  for  work  in  English  and 
History.  In  1918  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  from 
Howard  College.  In  the  spring  of  1917  he  became  Dean  of 
Howard  College  and  was  Acting  President  from  September,  1917, 
to  January,  1919.  He  was  president  of  the  Alabama  Association  of 
Colleges  in  1918;  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Language  Associa- 
tion of  America  and  an  individual  member  of  the  Southern  Associa- 
tion of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Commission  on  Accredited  Secondary  Schools  of  the  Southern 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools.  In  1919  he  was 
presented  with  the  silver  medal  of  the  Academic  des  Jeux  Floraux 
de  Toulouse.  He  is  editor  of  Picard's  La  Petite  Ville,  Ginn  &  Co., 
Boston.  He  has  been  instructor  in  French  in  the  summer  schools 
of  the  University  of  Alabama  and  of  Columbia  University,  and 
instructor  in  French  in  the  Department  of  University  Extension  of 
Columbia  University  during  the  session  of  1920-21.  He  has  spent 
the  regular  session  of  1920-21  as  graduate  student  in  Romance 
languages  in  Columbia  University. 


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